Britain’s Chief of Defense Staff, General Sir Nick Carter, said on Wednesday that Iran had made a “big mistake” by “attack” the oil tanker on Mercer Street, killing two people, one of whom was a British national. In the Strait of Hormuz, according to BBC Radio 4.
“Basically what we have to do is accuse Iran of acting very recklessly,” Carter said, accusing Iran of “internationalizing the situation in the Gulf.” [Pérsico]”
“We have to re-establish deterrence because such behavior leads to escalation and could very easily lead to miscalculation and that would be very disastrous for all the Gulf states and the international community,” Carter added.
The company reported Friday that two crew members of the “Mercer Street” freighter owned by billionaire Eyal Ofer were killed in the attack while the ship was heading from Tanzania to the United Arab Emirates. One of the crew members was British.
The attack opened a hole at the top of the tanker bridge where the captain and crew of the ship were.
The USS Ronald Reagan and the guided-missile destroyer USS Mitcher escorted Mercer Street to a nearby port.
Several attacks on merchant ships have been reported in recent months and have been linked to rising tensions between Israel and Iran. However, the attack on Mercer Street on July 29, a Liberian-flagged tanker owned by the Japanese and operated by Israel, was described as the worst attack in several months.
* Translated by Daniel Gallego.
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