{"id":17592,"date":"2021-08-06T17:03:30","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T17:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/06\/heres-why-centcom-thinks-iran-was-behind-a-fatal-drone-attack-on-a-ship-last-month\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:14:27","slug":"heres-why-centcom-thinks-iran-was-behind-a-fatal-drone-attack-on-a-ship-last-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/08\/06\/heres-why-centcom-thinks-iran-was-behind-a-fatal-drone-attack-on-a-ship-last-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s why CENTCOM thinks Iran was behind a fatal drone attack on a ship last month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

U.S. Central Command released evidence Friday that it says proves that an explosive aerial drone used in a July 30 fatal attack on the tanker ship Mercer Street<\/a> off Oman was Iranian made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While attacks on merchant ships in the Middle East have increased in recent years, the Mercer Street strike is believed to be the first such attack to result in loss of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drone was carrying military-grade explosives, and wing wreckage recovered by Navy investigators matches known Iranian drones, according to the combatant command, which based its findings on an investigation conducted by a team from the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The carrier escorted the stricken ship to safety following the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVerified components of the Iranian one-way attack (drone) were identical to previously identified Iranian unmanned one-way attack systems,\u201d the command said in a slideshow laying out its evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drone crashed into Mercer Street and detonated, leaving a 6-foot-wide hole in the pilot house while killing a Romanian citizen who was master of the ship and a British national working security, according to CENTCOM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An image released by U.S. Central Command Friday shows a 6-foot hole in the pilot house of the commercial ship Mercer Street after it was struck by an exploding drone off Oman on July 30. Two crewmembers died in the attack. (U.S. Central Command)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Explosive chemical tests revealed traces of RDX, a nitrate-based explosive, \u201cindicating the (drone) had been rigged to cause injury and destruction,\u201d the command said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExplosives experts were able to recover several pieces of this…UAV, including a vertical stabilizer\u2026and internal components which were nearly identical to previously collected examples of Iranian one-way attack (drones),\u201d CENTCOM said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distance from the Iranian coast to the attack location was also within the range of documented Iranian one-way drone attacks, according to CENTCOM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those recovered materials are being sent to a U.S. lab for further testing and verification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercer Street suffered an unsuccessful explosive drone attack the day before the fatal strike, on July 29, in which the drones crashed into the ocean near the ship, according to CENTCOM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small remnants of those aircraft were pulled from the water by crew members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

British and Israeli explosives experts also reviewed the drone evidence at U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and reached similar conclusions, CENTCOM said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t