Iran behind Nov. 15 drone attack on Israeli-linked tanker: US Navy analysis

The US Navy released an analysis on Tuesday saying it had concluded that Iran was behind the November 15 drone attack on an Israeli-linked tanker off the coast of Oman.

The report was released after a US Navy lab in Bahrain conducted a forensic analysis with debris fragments from the drone and other explosive residue samples.

“A US Navy lab in Bahrain has confirmed Iran’s connection to a Nov. 15 aerial drone attack on a Liberian-flagged commercial tanker transiting international waters in the Middle East,” a statement from the US 5th Fleet read.

The drone was a Shahed-136 UAV, which is the same drone used by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and the same aerial drone Tehran has given Russia to use against Ukraine.

The Nov. 15 attack took place after the drone attack targeted an Israeli-linked ship, leaving a 30-inch-wide hole in the back of the vessel and damaging other internal compartments.

“The Iranian attack on a commercial tanker transiting international waters was deliberate, flagrant and dangerous, endangering the lives of the ship’s crew and destabilizing maritime security in the Middle East,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command.

Cooper previously told Al Arabiya in an interview that Iran was the biggest threat to the security of navigation in the Gulf.