As the fallout persists over the fatal airborne attack on the M/T Mercer Street off the coast of Oman in late-July, attention has turned to examining the motivations and potential perpetrators behind the incident, with Iranian political and military forces potentially implicated.
A US Central Command report published on August 6 provided the first indication of the origin of the attack, concluding that Iranian-made explosive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had been used in the incident, targeting the commercial vessel in two unsuccessful attacks on the evening of July 29, with one drone impacting the sea near the vessel.
