TEHRAN – An Iranian official has warned against any move by Western countries and Israel against Iran, saying such a move would be met with a “tough response” from Iran.

“Although the Islamic Republic of Iran considers threats of Western officials and those of the Zionist regime as propaganda, any move against the interests and national security of Iran will be met with a tough and firm response, and Washington and London will directly be held accountable for the consequences,” the official told Nour News on Monday as UK and U.S. top diplomats, as well as Israel, pointed the finger at Iran after an Israel-operated ship came under attack in the Gulf of Oman last week.

The Israeli-operated ship Mercer Street was attacked off the coast of Oman on Thursday while traveling from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah. The oil tanker, managed by Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime, was reportedly attacked by suicide drones. Zodiac Maritime said two crewmen, a British and Romanian national, died in the attack.

“With profound sadness, we understand the incident onboard the M/T Mercer Street on 29 July, 2021 has resulted in the deaths of two crew members on board,” the UK-based Israeli company said in a statement on Friday afternoon, a day after the attack.

No country claimed responsibility for the attack but the United States, Israel and the UK blamed Iran for the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett claimed that Tel Aviv knows with certainty Iran attacked the Mercer Street ship and will respond to it.

“I determine, with absolute certainty – Iran carried out the attack against the ship,” Bennett stated, according to the Jerusalem Post. “The intelligence evidence for this exists and we expect the international community will make it clear to the Iranian regime that they have made a serious mistake.”

He noted, “In any case, we know how to send a message to Iran in our own way.”

Bennet’s remarks came after Iran denied any involvement in the Thursday attack. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh denounced the Israeli allegations against Iran, saying Iran had nothing to do with the attack.

“The illegitimate entity of the occupation regime in Jerusalem must stop leveling false accusation. This is not the first time the regime has made such accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Khatibzadeh said at his weekly press briefing which was held a day earlier this week. “Wherever this regime has gone, it has carried with it insecurity, terror and violence.”

“Those responsible for the current situation are those who opened the door for the occupation regime in Jerusalem to enter the region,” the spokesman continued.

Khatibzadeh also warned the Israeli regime about continuing its projections, saying, “He who sows winds, reaps storms.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not hesitate for a moment to protect the supreme interests of the people and its own national security,” Khatibzadeh continued.

The UK government issued a statement on Sunday accusing Iran of conducting the attack on the Israeli ship. “UK assessments concluded that it is highly likely that Iran attacked the merchant vessel MV Mercer Street in international waters off Oman using unmanned aerial vehicles.,” the statement said. Iran rejected the UK allegation.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also issued a similar statement. “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,” Blinken claimed.

Nour News said the U.S. and UK allegations are important for three reasons:

First, the “flood of accusations” against Iran in this regard is “while no document has been presented so far about Iran's role in this incident.”

Second, the remarks made by Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Robb in this regard, while understandable in terms of completing the Iranophobia project to bring their extravagant demands to the negotiating table, are a sign of the West's extreme intelligence weakness and its continuation of crisis-making for political purposes.

Third, Western officials have expressed grave concern about the deterioration of maritime security, while the United States and Britain not only have a long history of piracy, but have also turned a blind eye to the Zionists' continued mischief in destabilizing shipping lines and carrying out terrorist acts against other countries.

It pointed to the UK detention of an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar and U.S. harassments of Iranian oil tankers in many places as well as attacks on Iranian vessels in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea as examples of Western involvement in hostile acts against Iran. 

Nour News said Israel is the prime suspect in these attacks.