US: Evidence of attack on Mercer Street ships blames Iran
"The wreckage of a drone on the Mercer Street appears to have been built in Iran, and London blames Iran for the attack," Britain said after a UN Security Council meeting.
"We know this was a deliberate and calculated attack," Barbara Woodward, Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters at a Security Council meeting.
"What has happened is that a government attacking a civilian ship has no justification. Unfortunately, two people, one British and the other Romanian, have been killed in Iran's violation of international law," she said. .
Ms Woodward added: "We are convinced that the evidence we have obtained from the attack on the Mercer Street is indicative of an Iranian witness making a drone, which is only made in Iran."
The Iranian witness drone was inspired by the American Lockheed Martin drone 170LQ-Nastinal.
Iran's permanent ambassador to the United Nations and deputy envoy to the United Nations, Zahra Ershadi, has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating "Similar, baseless allegations concerning Iran's intelligence have been made more than once.
Ms Ershadi instead accused Israel of blaming Iran for turning the world's attention to inhumane acts and crimes in the region.
Mercer Street is a company-owned ship belonging to an Israeli billionaire, Eyal Ofer, which was attacked in open waters off the coast of Oman, killing one British and another Romanian.
Such incidents have occurred several times in the past few months, but this time when two people were killed, they provoked strong reactions against Iran.
The U.S. Central Command also said in a statement that it was investigating the attack last week.
The group of seven said in a statement: "All documents clearly point to Iran, which has no justification for the attack."
"Iran threatens international peace and security," the statement said.
"In addition to supporting proxy forces and non-state armed groups, Iran's actions pose a threat to peace and world security," the seven foreign ministers said.
"We urge Iran to suspend all its activities in accordance with Security Council resolutions and urge all to play a constructive role for peace and stability in the region," the statement said.
