Mercer Street: Romania condemns tanker attack that left one national dead, asks Iran for explanations

Romania condemned the drone attack against the oil tanker Mercer Street that left one Romanian and one UK citizen dead.

The attack is “completely unacceptable,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) said in a statement.

The country asked the Iran authorities for explanations and summoned the Iran ambassador for a meeting at MAE.

“Given the aspects presented by Romania’s international partners concerning the fact that the attack was deliberate and coordinated by Iran, Romania asks Iranian authorities to offer explanations right away and reserves the right to act accordingly, alongside its international partners, for an adequate response. The ambassador of Iran to Bucharest was summoned urgently at MAE,” the MAE statement reads.

Based on t/available info, Romania🇷🇴 strongly condemns t/Iranian drone attack against “Mercer Street”, during which a RO citizen was killed.There is no justification whatsoever 4 deliberately attacking civilians. We continue 2 coordinate w/our partners 4 an appropriate response — Bogdan Aurescu (@BogdanAurescu) August 2, 2021

“The attack against a civilian target, resulting in loss of lives and significant material damages, has no justification and needs to be condemned strongly at an international level,” it said.

MAE said it was coordinating with the country’s allies to identify the appropriate response measures.

Two Mercer Street crew members from Romania and the UK were killed in the drone attack on the tanker as it was transiting through the north Arabian Sea on July 29.

Israel, UK, and the US blamed Iran for being behind the attack. Iran denied involvement in the assault.

“Upon review of the available information, we are confident that Iran conducted this attack, which killed two innocent people, using one-way explosive UAVs, a lethal capability it is increasingly employing throughout the region,” US State Secretary Antony Blinken said.

“We believe this attack was deliberate, targeted, and a clear violation of international law by Iran. UK assessments have concluded that it is highly likely that Iran attacked the MV Mercer Street in international waters off Oman on July 29 using one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),” the UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab