US blaming Iran for Mercer Street attack ‘no small matter’

US Central Command has issued a statement multi-page test report on attack Mercer Street, The ship that was attacked off the coast of Yemen raised tensions between Israel and Iran, as well as between the US, Britain and Iran. The deadly drone attack was carried out by Iran and involved three drones. “On the basis of this evidence, American experts concluded that this UAV was made in Iran,” the report said. Iran has rejected these claims but the US and G-7 countries have blamed Iran.

Here’s what the team found. The fatal attack took place on 30 July and involved an explosive unmanned aerial vehicle attack on the tanker. Investigators came from the USS Ronald Reagan, which had sent a team to go on M/T to examine the evidence and interview the surviving crew members.

Iran decided to continue the strikes, although how they guided the drones and where they took off is unclear. But a moving ship is hard to find and attack with a drone. Iran has increased its drone strikes across the region in recent months. “The investigation team determined that extensive damage to Mercer Street … was the result of a third UAV attack on July 30. This UAV was loaded with a military-grade explosive, and caused the deaths of two crew members; the ship The owner, a Romanian citizen, and a United Kingdom citizen who was part of the security statement.”

A 6-foot diameter hole was made by the drone in the upper part of the pilot house, which badly damaged the interior. “Explosive chemical tests were indicative of a nitrate-based explosive and identified as RDX, indicating that the UAV was expected to cause injury and destruction.” Experts recovered parts of the UAV, including part of the wing, “similar to previously collected examples from Iranian one-way attack UAVs. Documented distances from the Iranian coast to the sites of attacks.” The attack was within range of the UAV. Following on-scene analysis, some of the material was transferred to the US Fifth Fleet Headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, and later to a US national laboratory for further testing and validation.

British explosives experts also arrived to examine the evidence. “The evidence was shared virtually with Israeli explosives experts.” There is now agreement with the US assessment that “the UAVs were produced in Iran.”

A PDF that Central Command put out has more details, and notes that the drone components have “very distinctive and matching identities to the previously exploited (and known) Iranian One-Way Attack UAVs. Iranians.” The use of one-sided attack “Kamikaze” UAVs designed and manufactured is a growing trend in the region. They are actively used against coalition forces in the region against Iran and their proxies to engage targets in Saudi Arabia and Iraq This means that it is part of an Iranian drone war across the region using this new technology.

We now know that after the first attack on July 29, the US Navy sent the USS Ronald Reagan with the USS Mitcher to establish and assist communications along Mercer Street. “An American drone was also directed to the area to assist. A helicopter of the USS Ronald Reagan is located mercer street In the remote part of the Arabian Sea. Communications were established, working through UKMTO and Zodiac mercer street; The surviving crew confirmed that a shipmaster and a security officer had been killed.” By 31 July one team had arrived on the ship and extracted evidence, and another team followed on 2 August.

The report said that a delta-wing style UAV was involved in the attack. It shows older images of these drones in Iran from 2014 and notes that a similar drone was found in Saudi Arabia, the result of an attack that year. Another delta-wing style UAV spotted in Yemen in September 2020. In January and May, Iran showed video of attacks with these UAVs. Photos from the 16-page report show the damage caused by the drone on July 30.