Israeli-operated tanker, M/T Mercer Street , near the coast of Oman that killed two people, a British and a Romanian national. (9) On March 27 and 28, 2022, Secretary of State Blinken met in Israel with counterparts from the governments of Israel, Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco to promote normalization in the region and declared, Our commitment to the core principle that Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon is unwavering. One way or another, we will continue to cooperate closely. . (10) In May 2022, Iran inaugurated an unmanned aerial system factory in Tajikistan to manufacture and export the Ababil–2, a multipurpose unmanned aerial system with reconnaissance, combat, and suicide capabilities. (11) On June 2, 2022, Iran-backed Hezbollah sent three unmanned aerial vehicles toward the Israeli-controlled Karish gas field, one of which was intercepted by an F–16 fighter jet, and two of which were intercepted by Barak 8 missiles launched from the Sa’ar 5-class corvette INS Eilat . (12) On July 2, 2022, the Israeli military reportedly shot down three unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Hezbollah in the vicinity of where an Israeli gas platform had been recently installed in the Mediterranean Sea. (13) On July 14, 2022, the United States and Israel adopted the Joint Declaration on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership, reaffirming the unbreakable bonds between the two countries and the enduring commitment of the United States to the security of Israel. (14) In late August 2022, Iran reportedly sent its first batch of Shahed–136 unmanned aerial systems to Russia for use against Ukraine. While Russia is rebranding these systems the Geran–2, United States officials revealed the agreement in the summer of 2022. (15) On September 12, 2022, Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari, who heads the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Iran, announced that the Armed Forces of Iran had developed the Arash–2 unmanned aerial system specifically designed to attack Tel Aviv and Haifa. (16) On November 13, 2022,