The drone that blew a hole in a Zodiac Maritime-operated tanker killing two on 29 July was Iranian in origin, the US military said on Friday, with the UK and Israel concurring.

US Central Command — the US military's arm responsible for the Middle East — said its experts were able to recover pieces of the drone that struck the 49,992-dwt Mercer Street (built 2013) in the Gulf of Oman, concluding it was built in Iran.