by Stephen Lendman
According to Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), an explosion occurred on the privately owned Israeli MV Helios Ray near the Gulf of Oman — en route to Singapore from Saudi Arabia with a cargo of vehicles.
Ray Shipping reported that one of its vessels was damaged by “an explosion…in the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz.”
“The ship has 28 crew members. No one was hurt. The engine room was not damaged. It is on its way to the port of Dubai to fix everything necessary.”
According to ship owner Abraham Unger, reportedly Israel’s richest man, a figure close to Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, he doesn’t think what happened was deliberate.
Last week, Israeli war minister Benny Gantz falsely accused Iran of targeting the vessel with a missile — despite no evidence suggesting it.
On Sunday, the Jerusalem Post quoted IDF chief General Aviv Kochavi saying.
“We were reminded that Iran is not just a nuclear threat (sic).”
He falsely blamed the Islamic Republic of “spread(ing) terrorism and is conducting terrorist activities against civilian targets (sic).”
All of the above applies to the US, NATO, and Israel, not Iran — observing the rule of law, not flagrantly breaching it like the West and Jewish state.
On all things Iran, Kochavi, Gantz, and other regime hardliners sound like Netanyahu — making false accusations, no evidence backing them, and partnering with US-led Western crimes of war and against humanity.
In response to what happened to the MV Helios Ray, Islamophobic Zionist zealot, former Israeli UN envoy Danny Danon falsely blamed Iran for the incident, saying:
“We will not be silent (sic). The Iranians will pay a heavy price for any aggression against the Israeli state (sic).”
Washington earlier falsely blamed Iran for attacks on vessels in regional waters, including what affected two Saudi oil tankers in May 2019.
When these type accusations are made, no evidence supports them.
Often they’re false flags. Using them is longstanding US practice to falsely blame nations like Iran and Russia for things they had nothing to do with.
On Monday, Netanyahu continued his war of words on Iran — punctuated with his customary litany of bald-faced Big Lies.
Saying what happened to MV Helios Ray was “clearly an Iranian operation, Tehran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh responded as follows:
He’s “suffering from an obsession with Iran. (S)ecurity of the Persian Gulf is extremely important for Iran.”
Separately, Iran’s Nour News that’s close to its ruling authorities reported the following:
The Biden regime intends pursuing “coercion diplomacy” against Tehran.
Showing lack of good will, it’s pursuing an anti-Iran agenda. “It is confrontational” instead of engaging with Tehran cooperatively.
“(P)ositions of Biden and those close to him clearly show that (his regime) seeks to evade lifting sanctions and is willing to continue the status quo, which has resulted in the restrictions imposed on Iran remaining without any concessions,” Nour News explained.
In other words, US dirty business as usual continuity toward Iran continues at least largely unchanged from earlier.
Bidens Iranophobic agenda is all sticks and no carrots.
It’s further proof of the futility of Iranian officials to expect anything positive from the US — just the opposite.
Separately, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani accused the Biden regime of expanding and strengthening the presence of ISIS in the region to escalate terrorism, adding:
Iran and other “counter-terrorism countries” will not allow “Takfiri terrorism to (be) revive(d) in the region.”
The scheme aims to terrify Iraqi ruling authorities into allowing endless US occupation of their country.
The US plans permanent occupation of Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, and other countries it wants unchallenged control over.
The vast majority of people in the Middle East, Central Asia, north Africa and elsewhere want their countries back.
They want US occupation ended, its forces out, never to return.