Jerusalem. August 1. INTERFAX-Iran is responsible for the attack on the Mercer Street tanker in the Indian Ocean, Israeli intelligence has evidence of this, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday.
"I point out, with all certainty: Iran has carried out an attack against the ship. There is intelligence data confirming this, and we expect that the international community will make it clear to the Iranian regime that it has made a serious mistake, "the Jerusalem Post quoted the prime minister as saying.
He noted that during the attack, a drone was used against a ship that Iran considered to be a target associated with Israel. For example, the Japanese-owned tanker Mercer Street, flying the flag of Liberia, was operated by Zodiac Maritime, which is owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.
Bennett promised to respond to such actions by Iran. The prime minister stressed that " Iran's aggressiveness threatens not only Israel, but also harms global interests, that is, freedom of navigation and international trade."
Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Post reports, citing diplomatic sources, Israel is working with other countries, mainly with the United States and Great Britain, in order to discuss Iran's actions in the UN Security Council and condemn them.
Earlier it was reported that the Japanese tanker Mercer Street, traveling without cargo from Dar es Salaam to Fujairah, was attacked in the north of the Indian Ocean. As a result, two crew members were killed - a British citizen and a Romanian citizen.
The Iranian TV channel Al Alam TV, citing unnamed sources, claimed that the attack on the ship was carried out in response to an alleged Israeli attack on the Al-Dabaa military airport in Syria. The source said that as a result of an Israeli air strike on the night of July 22, carried out in the Al-Qusayr district in the western Syrian province of Homs, two "resistance fighters" were killed, and Hezbollah's weapons and ammunition depots were destroyed.
The Iranian authorities have denied involvement in the attack on the Mercer Street tanker in the Indian Ocean.
"There is nothing new in such searches for the guilty. Those who are responsible for this attack are the same (forces - IF) who made it possible for the Israeli regime to strengthen itself in this region," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.
According to the Jerusalem Post, an unnamed senior representative of the Israeli authorities, speaking about the incident with Mercer Street, which took place shortly before the inauguration of the new Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in early August, said that "no one can pretend that they do not know the nature of the regime in Iran."
