EMEA News
Israel Blames Libyan-Owned Aframax Tanker for 'Terrorist' Oil Spill
The Israeli government believes it has found the culprit for the oil spill that caused tar to wash up on its beaches last month, saying it came from a Libyan-owned tanker and that it may have been a deliberate attack on the country by Iran.
The spill came from the Aframax tanker Emerald on 1-2 February, Israel's Ministry for Environmental Protection said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.
"It was illegally carrying cargo from Iran to Syria," Gila Gamliel, the country's environmental protection minister, said in the statement.
"The ship was flying Panama's flag.
"Iran is waging terrorism not only by trying to arm itself with nuclear weapons or trying to establish a basis near our borders.
"Iran is waging terrorism by harming the environment."
Israel was forced to close its Mediterranean beaches last month as tar from the spill washed up on them.
