Benny Gantz’s statements come at a time when Israel is urging countries to take action at the United Nations over a drone attack on the Mercer Street oil tanker in the Arabian Sea last week.
The unreported attack killed two people: a British man hired by security company Ambrey and a member of the Romanian crew, according to shipowner Zodiac Maritime, a London-based international company owned by Israeli Eyal Ofer.
Israel, like the United States and Britain, immediately accused Iran of orchestrating the attack, but neither provided evidence to support their claims. Tehran, which has launched similar attacks with allied regional militias, has denied involvement.
Speaking on the Ynet news site, Gantz responded with an emphatic yes about Israel’s willingness to attack Iran.
“We live at a time when we need to take military action against Iran,” Gantz said. “The world must act against Iran now,” he insisted.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett already expressed a similar opinion.
“I just heard that Iran is cowardly trying to evade responsibility in this case, which they deny. [qualquer envolvimento]… Therefore, I can say with complete confidence that Iran carried out an attack on the ship. […]… There is evidence of this, ”he said at a weekly government meeting.
“We hope that the international community will send a clear signal to the Iranian regime that it has made a grave mistake. In any case, we know how to send a message to Iran in our own way, ”he added, without specifying.
The incident, reported just a week ago against the Mercer Street oil tanker, is the first known victim after years of attacks on commercial ships in the region over tensions with Iran.
