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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Iran for the explosion on the cargo ship of an Israeli company in the Gulf of Oman.

This is clear, said Netanyahu in an interview published on Monday morning with the channel Kan.

He reiterated that Israel would not allow a nuclear-armed Iran.

"Iran is Israel's greatest enemy, I am determined to stop it," said Netanyahu.

An explosion had occurred on the ship on Friday.

The freighter "MV Helios Ray" was sailing to Singapore under the flag of the Bahamas.

The crew was not injured by the explosion, but according to US defense reports, it caused four leaks on the ship.

On Sunday the freighter arrived in the port of Dubai for repairs.

"We firmly reject this accusation," said an Iranian Foreign Office spokesman on Monday about the allegations. 

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It is still unclear what triggered the explosion on the cargo ship.

There have been several incidents in the past in the Gulf of Oman.

In the summer of 2019, for example, there were alleged attacks on two tankers that were damaged.

The suspicion was directed against Iran, which however rejected the allegations.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz had told Kan on Saturday evening: "There is an assessment that it was the Iranians, but that still needs to be examined further."

Iran is hostile to Israel, and the case is creating new tensions.

An Iranian nuclear physicist was last killed in an attack in November.

The Iranian leadership had accused the USA and Israel at the time.

Israel then adjusted to possible acts of revenge by Tehran.

Commenting on the explosion on the ship, Gantz said it was known that Iran was targeting Israeli infrastructure and Israeli citizens, among other things.

Air raids near Damascus

In the night from Sunday to Monday, the Syrian state media also reported a series of alleged air strikes from Israel near Damascus.

The air defense intercepted most of the projectiles, it said.

Israeli media reported that the alleged air strikes targeted Iranian targets in response to the attack on the ship.

Israel regularly attacks targets in Syria.

These attacks are often directed against pro-Iranian militias.

Israel wants to push back the military influence of Iran, which is allied with the government in Damascus, in the neighboring civil war country.