Iran’s top general warns of a response after an Iranian oil tanker was hit by explosions off the coast of Syria.
By Paul Shindman, World Israel News
The head of Iran’s military said Sunday that Israel will “not be calm” as Iran weighs a response to an attack on an Iranian-owned ship off the coast of Syria that Arab media reports attributed to Israel.
“The Zionists think that they can be mischievous in different places and not get an answer, but the Resistance Front will give a fundamental answer to the Zionists,” Iranian armed forces chief of staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri said in comments reported by the IRNA news agency.
“The Zionists think that they can permanently target the Syrian territory and make mischief in different places and in the seas and not get a response,” Bagheri said. “It is not clear what Iran’s response will be, but the Zionist regime will not be calm.”
“We do not say anything about the perpetrator of the incidents and we do not know who he is, but the Resistance Front will give a fundamental answer to the Zionists,” Bagheri warned.
On Saturday, media outlets in Lebanon and Syria reported a fire broke out on an oil tanker in waters offshore near the oil refinery in the coastal city of Banias, after it was allegedly attacked by a drone “coming from the south,” Kan News reported.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the ship was an Iranian-owned tanker and that three Syrians who were on board were killed in the attack. Syrian officials blamed Israel for the attack, Lebanese media reported.
“The fires are unlikely to be caused by a technical failure. It was not known whether the explosion was caused by a drone attack or naval attack,” the SOHR reported, adding that “it has not been conclusively confirmed whether the attack was carried out by a drone from Lebanese territorial waters, while the identity of the attackers remained unknown.”
Earlier this month, Israel was reported to be the perpetrator after the Iranian spy ship Saviz was attacked in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. The Saviz is technically registered as a cargo ship, but its true purpose as a military vessel providing support to Iranian naval commandos under the control of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is an open secret.
Iran and Israel have been waging what appears to be a low-level war on the open seas, with Iran attacking Israeli merchant ships.
Iranian political and military leaders have repeatedly stated their goal is to destroy Israel, with Bagheri’s predecessor, Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, saying that “the Iranian nation is standing for its cause that is the full annihilation of Israel.”