A top Iranian diplomat has warned of consequences of any possible miscalculated measure by Israel over an explosion that damaged an Israeli ship in the Sea of Oman last week.
Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi made the remarks on Friday, in a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday.
The letter came a week after an Israeli-owned cargo ship said it had been crippled by a suspected blast while it was in the Sea of Oman, claiming that it suffered holes in both sides of its hull.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hastily accused Iran of attacking the ship. Iran categorically rejected the charge.
“The incident has all the characteristic of a complicated false flag operation carried out by actors in order to pursue their malign policies and to advance their illegitimate objectives,” wrote Takht Ravanchi in his letter to the UN.
The giant MV Helios Ray, a Bahamian-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo ship, which sat at dry dock facilities at Dubai's Port Rashid on Sunday for repairs following the alleged blast, left the port on Wednesday, sailing along the Omani coast toward the Arabian Sea.
“The Israeli regime that threatens Iran on an almost daily basis, desperately attempts, through accusing Iran as well as playing victim to distract attention away from all its destabilizing acts and malign practices across the region,” Iran’s UN envoy further said.
Takht Ravanchi also called on the international community not to lose sight of the “crimes, brutalities and threats” committed by the Tel Aviv regime, particularly "its occupation of Palestine and parts of other countries."
He also warned the global community of Israel’s “persistent military adventurism” in a region as volatile as the Middle East.
In conclusion, Takht Ravanchi stressed that Tel Aviv must “be held accountable for all such unlawful and reckless activities and also be reminded that it will bear all consequences as a result of any possible miscalculation.”