Haaretz newspaper reported that Iran was caught involved in the attack on the ship in the Sea of ​​Oman, and that Israel is exploiting this to mobilize a global political process against it, while Tehran denies what it described as the "lowest" Israeli accusations.

The editor of military and security affairs in the Israeli newspaper - Amos Harel - said that intelligence information in the possession of Western and Israeli security services indicates the involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Air Force in this attack.

He added that the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Air Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, had obtained unlimited permission from the Iranian leadership to launch attacks using drones.

According to the newspaper, the latest attack came in response to an attack attributed to Israel in Syria two weeks ago, as 3 attacks took place in Syria within one week, one of them near Homs, in which he was wounded and an officer in the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards was not killed. on the ship".

Harel went on to say that the Israeli government is using this attack to mobilize global political action against Iran and to present it as an international obstacle.

However, he added that this does not mean that Israel has abandoned the military and security option, and it is permissible to assume that Israel will move in the political and military channels.

An Israeli-operated tanker for petroleum products, Mercer Street, was attacked off the coast of the Sultanate of Oman on July 29, killing a Briton and a Romanian.

Tehran denied what it described as the baseless Israeli accusations, and Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Khatibzadeh said that it was not the first time that Tel Aviv had leveled accusations against Tehran, adding that Israel's presence in any region leads to destabilization of security, stability, terrorism and violence in it, according to his expression.

Khatibzadeh stressed that "such accusations are intended to divert attention from the facts and are baseless."

At the start of his government's weekly session on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett blamed Iran for the attack on the oil-derivatives tanker, adding that he expected the international system "to explain to the Iranian regime the extent of the grave mistake it committed."

Bennett stressed that Israel will explain to Iran in its own way the enormity of the step it took in attacking the tanker, as he put it.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that the incident deserved a stern response, adding in a tweet that "Iran is not only an Israeli problem, it is a source of terrorism, destruction and instability, harming everyone (...) We must not remain silent in the face of Iranian terrorism, which also undermines freedom of navigation. ".


international participation

According to the British newspaper "Telegraph", the British Foreign Office is expected to summon the Iranian ambassador to the United Kingdom - Mohsen Bahrvand - this morning, Monday.

The British government held an emergency meeting of officials over the weekend in a sign of the serious focus on the tanker attack and how to respond.

On the other hand, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington, after reviewing the available information, is confident that Iran carried out the attack in the Arabian Sea.

Blinken added that the attack, which killed two civilians, was carried out using drones that Iran is increasingly using in its attacks, as he described it.

In this context, the US State Department said yesterday, Saturday, that Washington had agreed to participate in an investigation into the attack on the oil tanker, and ministry spokesman Ned Price explained that the US Secretary of State had a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, and they agreed “to work with the United Kingdom, Romania and international partners.” others to investigate the facts, provide support and consider the appropriate next stages.”

The US Navy's Fifth Fleet had said that its explosives experts had reached preliminary findings that the attack on Mercer Street, owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofir, was carried out by a drone, and the ship was on its way from Tanzania to the UAE.

Reuters reported that US and European sources familiar with intelligence reports said that Iran was the main suspect in the incident, but a US Defense Department official stressed that Washington was looking for conclusive evidence.

Iran and Israel have accused each other of attacking each other's ships in recent months, as tensions have risen in the Gulf region since the United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal signed between Iran and major powers in 2015.