Tehran on Monday denied accusations by the United States that the drone that hit a ship off the coast of India this weekend was launched from Iranian territory.
A tanker owned by a Japanese company was hit by a drone on Saturday off the coast of India, after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for several attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea.
The Iran-backed Houthis say these attacks hit ships linked to Israeli interests and are a sign of their support for Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is waging an offensive against the Islamist group Hamas.
The Pentagon stated that the Japanese ship was hit by a drone launched from Iran.
“These statements are totally inadmissible and worthless,” declared Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kanani in response to a question about the accusations made by the United States.
“These types of statements are intended to distract public opinion and cover up the US government’s full support for the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) in Gaza,” he added.
The conflict in Gaza erupted 80 days ago, on October 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack in southern Israel that left some 1,140 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli data.
The Islamist movement’s commandos also kidnapped some 240 people and 129 remain captive in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
In response, Israel promised to “annihilate” Hamas and launched a ground and air offensive that has left at least 20,424 dead in Gaza, according to the Islamist movement that has ruled this Palestinian territory alone since 2007.
Iran supports Hamas and celebrated the October 7 attack as a “success” but denied involvement.