CNN
By Jonny Hallam, Kareem El Damanhoury, Barbara Starr and Sheena McKenzie, CNN
Updated 10:34 AM ET, Sat July 31, 2021
(CNN) Maritime tensions are escalating in the Middle East following the deadly attack on a tanker connected to an Israeli billionaire in the Arabian Sea.
Two crewmembers, a Briton and a Romanian, died on Thursday when the Mercer Street tanker was attacked by an armed drone believed to be operated by Iran off the coast of Oman.
While Israel and the US are blaming Iran for the attack, Iranian state media has said the incident was in retaliation for an airstrike on a military airport in Syria that it accused Israel of being behind.