Alleged Iranian attack on oil tanker off Oman: Israel seeks UN action

Israel is pressing for international action against Iran over a deadly attack on a ship managed by an Israeli billionaire, branding Tehran an "exporter of terrorism" after the likely drone strike. 

The MT Mercer Street tanker was struck Thursday in the northern Indian Ocean, killing two crew members, in what the United States said was a drone-style attack.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the strike, but maritime industry analysts Dryad Global said "this latest attack has the hallmarks of the ongoing Israel/Iran 'shadow war'".

On Friday, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said he has ordered the nation's diplomats to push for UN action against "Iranian terrorism".

"I've instructed the embassies in Washington, London and the UN to work with their interlocutors in government and the relevant delegations in the UN headquarters in New York," Lapid said on Twitter.

"Iran is not just an Israeli problem, but an exporter of terrorism, destruction and instability that are hurting us all," he said.

"We must never remain silent in the face of Iranian terrorism, which also harms freedom of navigation," Lapid added.

Lapid said he had also spoken to his British counterpart Dominic Raab, stressing "the need to respond severely to the attack on the ship in which a British citizen was killed."

Zodiac Maritime, the tanker's London-based operator owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, said a Romanian national also died in the attack. The Mercer Street, an oil products tanker, was travelling from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates with no cargo aboard when it was struck, Zodiac Maritime said.

The US military said that early indications "clearly point" to a drone strike on the Mercer Street, a Japanese-owned tanker flying a Liberian flag.

Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam state TV channel, citing "informed regional sources", said the attack was a "response to a recent Israeli attack" targeting an airport in central Syria where Iran is backing the regime.

In June, Iran said it had foiled a sabotage attack on an atomic energy agency building near the city of Karaj west of Tehran. But aerial photographs obtained by a private Israeli intelligence firm revealed damage to the site.

Dryad Global said the attack was the fifth against a ship connected to Israel since February. Two ships tied to Iran were attacked in that period, the firm said.