TEHRAN, August 2. /TASS/. Accusations from the US and the UK targeting Tehran for its alleged involvement in the attack on the Japanese-owned tanker Mercer Street are unfounded and politically motivated, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday.
"The ministry’s representative called deeply regrettable and groundless accusations of the UK Foreign Office against Tehran, which were then repeated by US Secretary of State [Antony Blinken]," the ministry press service reported. Khatibzadeh noted that "the accusations are presented without any evidence whatsoever provided."
According to him, "the above countries stay silent when terrorist attacks take place against Iran’s trade vessels in the Red Sea and in the international waters, but at the same time raise unfounded accusations against Iran with an obvious political biasedness."
The Mercer Street tanker operated by the Israeli-owned company Zodiac Maritime was attacked on Thursday in the Arabian Sea. A British and a Romanian national were killed. The Israeli Foreign Ministry, the UK Foreign Office, and the US secretary of state have accused Iran of being behind the attack.