US Navy Says Iranian Drone, Similar To One Supplied To Putin For Ukraine War, Attacked Oil Tanker In Oman

The U.S. military said the Iran-made drone that Tehran supplied to Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine was used to attack a commercial tanker in Oman.

What Happened: The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet published photos and details of its investigation into the attack on an oil product tanker off the coast of Oman last week and said the debris analysis shows that the same Iranian drone was used, reported Reuters.

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The drone ripped a 30-inch-wide hole into the back of the ship, the Navy said in a statement, adding that the explosive impact damaged a shipboard boiler, potable water tank and life raft.

“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,” top U.S. Navy commander in the Middle East, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, said in a statement.

Iran, which has earlier repeatedly denied supplying drones to Russia for the Ukraine war, had earlier this month acknowledged for the first time that it sent drones to Moscow but said the delivery happened before the invasion of Ukraine.

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