Netanyahu: Iran clearly behind blast that hit Israeli-owned ship in Gulf


In media blitz, PM says Israel striking Iran across region, won’t permit Tehran to get nuclear weapons; refuses to rule out future bid for immunity, denies trying to delay trial

The MV Helios Ray, a vehicle carrier, was travelling from the Saudi port of Dammam to Singapore when a blast occurred on February 25,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Iran was behind the explosion that hit an Israeli-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman last week.

“This is indeed an action by Iran, it is clear,” the prime minister told the Kan public broadcaster.

The prime minister added that Israel has told the United States that Jerusalem will not allow Tehran to have nuclear weapons, no matter what the terms are of any potential multinational deal.

Iran responded to Netanyahu’s statement, saying it “strongly rejects” the accusation that it was behind the attack. In a press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Netanyahu was “suffering from an obsession with Iran” and described his charges as “fear-mongering.”“The Iranians will not have nuclear weapons, with or without an agreement. I said that to my friend [US President Joe] Biden as well,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu’s comments were made in an interview pre-recorded on Sunday before Syrian state media reported that air defense systems were activated around Damascus due to an Israeli attack that unsourced Hebrew-language reports said was a response to the blast on the ship.

A report carried on the official SANA news agency claimed the Syrian military intercepted several Israeli missiles.

There was no comment on the reported strikes from the Israel Defense Forces, which rarely acknowledges specific attacks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor which has had its credibility questioned in the past, said the strike hit the area of Sayyida Zeinab south of Damascus, where the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah are present.

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