A representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on 2 August that there is no reason to believe Iran may have been involved in the attack on the Israeli-owned Mercer Street oil tanker as no facts have yet been provided.

Zamir Kabulov, the Russian presidential envoy to Afghanistan, also noted that Tehran has not yet asked Moscow for help in clarifying the circumstances of the incident.

On Monday, the foreign ministries of Romania and the United Kingdom summoned Iran’s ambassadors to the two countries, as the attack left one Romanian and one British citizen dead. This came one day after the US and British governments blamed Iran for the attack and threatened an “appropriate response.”

For their part, Tehran has strongly denied any involvement in the attack, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh calling these accusations “baseless” and warning that any “adventurism” from Western powers will be met with a decisive response.

As guarantor of Persian Gulf security, Iran strongly condemns provocative & orchestrated UK/US statements.

Having kept silent abt REPEATED terrorist attacks on IRANIAN ships, they now baselessly accuse IRAN.

Any anti-Iran adventurism will receive IMMEDIATE & DECISIVE response.

— Saeed Khatibzadeh | سعید خطیب‌زاده (@SKhatibzadeh) August 2, 2021