Israel is prepared to attack Iran, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was quoted as saying on Thursday, a week after an Israeli-linked oil tanker was attacked in the Gulf of Oman by what Israel, the U.S., and the UK said was Iran.
"Yes," Gantz said when asked in an interview broadcast by an Israeli media website if Israel was ready to attack Iran, Bloomberg reported.
The tensions in the Middle East, and especially between Israel and Iran, have escalated in the past week after the drone attack on the oil tanker Mercer Street, which killed two crew members. Israel, the United States, and the UK blamed Iran for the attack.
"Upon review of the available information, we are confident that Iran conducted this attack, which killed two innocent people, using one-way explosive UAVs, a lethal capability it is increasingly employing throughout the region," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Sunday.
The Middle East tensions further escalated earlier this week, when a tanker carrying bitumen was the target of a hijacking attempt in the Gulf of Oman in which it was ordered to travel to Iran.
In response to Israeli defense minister's words that Israel was prepared to attack Iran, the spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, tweeted on Thursday:
"In another brazen violation of Int'l law, Israeli regime now blatantly threatens #Iran with military action. Such malign behavior stems from blind Western support. We state this clearly: ANY foolish act against Iran will be met with a DECISIVE response. Don't test us."
The flare-up of tensions in the Middle East comes just hardline President Ebrahim Raisi was sworn in, with the oil market still wondering when the nuclear talks could resume.
The rising tensions in the Middle East have lent some support to oil prices toward the end of this week, but market participants were much more focused on potential demand loss in view of surging COVID cases in major economies and renewed travel restrictions in the world's top oil importer, China.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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