Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan, in his first address to the Security Council, Oct. 26, 2020. Source: Facebook/Gilad Erdan. (JNS) Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan called on Tuesday for the U.N. Security Council to “condemn and sanction” Iran over an attack on an Israeli-managed oil tanker in the Arabian Sea on July 29.
“Iran’s repeated brazen and murderous actions … serve not only to threaten the safety of international shipping and navigation … but further destabilize a highly volatile region. The Security Council should not sit idly by in the face of such violations by Iran or by the terrorist organizations throughout the region that serve as its proxies,” Erdan wrote in a letter to the incoming president of the U.N. Security Council T.S. Tirumurti.
The July 29 attack on the Mercer Street killed two crewmen, one British and one Romanian. Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and Romania have all said that the evidence points to an armed drone attack carried out by Iran. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said there would be a “joint response” to the incident, which he called a “direct threat to freedom of navigation and commerce.”
Erdan wrote: “It is imperative to underline the pivotal role the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has played in sowing violence and destruction in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. The IRGC is the main sponsor of terrorist groups and militias throughout the region.”
Referring to strikes against Israeli-owned ships, including the Helios Rayand Hyperion Ray, earlier this year, Erdan said the Security Council must address the “string of attacks” with “great urgency” and “take all necessary measures to hold the Iranian regime fully accountable for its repeated and unrestrained gross violations of international law.”
Erdan’s letter was sent as another event involving oil tankers unfolded in the Gulf of Oman.
On Tuesday, six oil tankers off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates reported that they were “not under command,” AP reported. That number was reduced to one by Tuesday evening, with The Times of London reporting that the Asphalt Princess had been hijacked around 5 p.m. London time.
On Wednesday, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations announced that the vessel was safe and that the hijackers had left the ship, according to AP.
Iran has denied any involvement in the incident.
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