‘Baseless accusations’

Iran yesterday rejected Israel's "baseless accusations" of being behind a deadly tanker attack off Oman, vowing to defend its interests after its arch-foe pushed for UN action against Tehran. 

The MT Mercer Street, managed by prominent Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, was struck Thursday off the coast of Oman, in an incident Israel has blamed on Iran.

Two crew members were killed, a British security guard and a Romanian crew member, in what the US military and the vessel's operator Zodiac Maritime said appeared to be a drone strike.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett yesterday said Israel was privy to "evidence" proving Iran was behind the deadly tanker attack off Oman.

"The intelligence evidence for this exists and we expect the international community will make it clear to the Iranian regime that they have made a serious mistake," the Israeli premier said at the weekly cabinet meeting in remarks conveyed by his office.

"In any case, we know how to send a message to Iran in our own way."

On Friday, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said he had ordered the nation's diplomats to push for UN action against "Iranian terrorism".

But Iran dismissed the claims.

"The Zionist regime ... must stop such baseless accusations -- and it is not their first time to direct such accusations at Iran," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters in a televised press conference.

On Saturday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Lapid and agreed to work with other allies "to investigate the facts, provide support, and consider the appropriate next steps," according to a State Department statement.

Maritime industry analysts Dryad Global said the attack was the fifth against a ship connected to Israel since February.

In recent months, there have been several reported attacks on Iran's shipping fleet that Tehran has linked to Israel. Iran has also accused Israel of being behind sabotage attacks against its nuclear sites, and assassinating a number of its scientists.