Oman - The African Mirror

Aug

2021

Hijacking ends in Arabian Sea, as Oman identifies tanker involved

OMAN has identified the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess as the tanker involved in a hijacking which Britain's maritime trade agency earlier said was over. The statement by Oman's Maritime Security Centre was the first official confirmation of Tuesday's incident in the Arabian Sea which maritime security sources had told Reuters involved suspected Iranian-backed forces. Iran denied any involvement. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in a warning notice based on a third-party source on Wednesday that people who had boarded a tanker involved in a "potential hijack" had since left and that the vessel, which it did not identify,…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Israel able to ‘act alone’ against Iran after ship attack, PM says

WORLD

PRIME Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel was capable of acting alone against Iran, after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken predicted a "collective" response to an attack last week on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman. "We are working to rally the world, but at the same time we also know to act alone," Bennett said on Tuesday during a tour of Israel's northern border. Israel, the United States and Britain have blamed Iran for the incident, a charge Tehran has denied.

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Iran warns of response if security threatened after ship attack

WORLD

IRAN will respond promptly to any threat against its security, a foreign ministry spokesman has said, after the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman. Tehran has denied any involvement in the attack on Thursday in which two crew members - a Briton and a Romanian - were killed. The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack on Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime. Britain summoned the Iranian ambassador on…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

Israel blames Iran for attack on tanker off Oman that killed two

WORLD

LISA BARRINGTON, JONATHAN SAUL and DAN WILLIAMS A Briton and a Romanian were killed when an Israeli-managed petroleum product tanker came under attack off the coast of Oman, the company said, in an incident that Israel's foreign minister blamed on Iran and said deserved a harsh response. There were varying explanations for what happened to the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship, with Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime describing the incident as "suspected piracy" and a source at the Oman Maritime Security Center as an accident that occurred outside Omani territorial waters. Iran and Israel have traded accusations of attacking each other's…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Oman bans arrivals from 8 African countries

COVID-19

OMAN’S supreme committee for dealing with COVID-19 said yesterday it was suspending entry for arrivals from Sudan, Lebanon, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, Guinea, Sierra Leone for 15 days from February 25, state media reported. The decision also includes arrivals from elsewhere if they have passed through any of those countries in the 14 days prior to applying to enter the sultanate. Omani citizens, diplomats, health workers and their families are exempt from the suspension, the committee said.

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Oman welcomes Morocco, Israel normalisation as step towards regional peace

NEWS

OMAN has welcomed Morocco's announcement that it was establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and hoped the move would strengthen efforts towards a lasting and just peace in the Middle East, its foreign ministry has announced. Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalise relations in a deal brokered with U.S. help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months. In a departure from longstanding U.S. policy, President Donald Trump agreed as part of the deal to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory…