TEHRAN, Dec  25, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Iran's foreign ministry rejected Monday
as "worthless" Washington's claims that a drone attack targeting a tanker off
the coast of India was "fired from Iran".

Saturday's targeting of a Japanese-owned chemical tanker came amid a flurry
of drone and missile attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels in the Red Sea
in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is battling Hamas
militants.

The Pentagon later openly accused Tehran of the attack.

"We declare these claims as completely rejected and worthless," said
foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani when asked about the US accusations.

"Such claims are aimed at projecting, distracting public attention, and
covering up for the full support of the American government for the crimes of
the Zionist regime (Israel) in Gaza," he added.

The tanker arrived on Monday off Mumbai where it was inspected by an Indian
Navy explosive ordnance disposal team, PTI news agency reported.

The Navy said an initial review of the ship's damage pointed to a drone
strike, according to PTI, but that further analysis would be necessary to
determine the "vector of attack".

The Gaza Strip has endured over 11 weeks of Israeli air and ground attacks
that have killed more than 20,400 people, mostly women and children, according
to the health ministry in the Hamas-run coastal territory.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas after the Palestinian militant group
carried out a cross-border attack on October 7 that killed around 1,140 people
in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Palestinian militants also abducted about 250 people, 129 of whom Israel
says remain in Gaza.

Kanani also slammed as "repetitive" and "threadbare" recent remarks by UK
Foreign Secretary David Cameron who branded Iran a "malign influence in the
region and the world" and urged a "set of deterrent measures against" it.

The Islamic republic, which supports Hamas financially and militarily, has
hailed the October 7 attacks as a "success" but denied any direct involvement.

Yemeni rebels' recent attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea have
prompted major firms to reroute their cargo vessels around the southern tip of
Africa, a much longer voyage with higher fuel costs.

Iran has repeatedly dismissed US and Israeli accusations that Tehran was
involved in attacks by the Huthis, saying the group was acting on its own.