Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh denied the reports that Iran was behind an attack on an Israeli commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman last week, stating that Iran "strongly rejects" the claim and that "the origin of this accusation shows how baseless it is," according to Iranian media.Khatibzadeh stressed that the Persian Gulf and and Gulf of Oman are Iran's immediate security zones and that Iran is "closely monitoring the actions of" Israel and will respond if necessary. "The prime minister of the Zionist regime is suffering from a mental illness. This regime knows that in our security sphere, our response has been accurate and firm," said the spokesman.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on Monday for a blast aboard the MV Helios Ray, a vehicle-carrier ship, but sidestepped a question on whether Israel would retaliate.Khatibzadeh additionally rejected statements made by Netanyahu concerning Iran's nuclear program, stating that "nuclear weapons have no place in Iran's security doctrine. On the contrary, the Zionist regime has stockpiled a large number of them, and its hands are stained with a lot of blood."
Iran says it was not behind blast on Israeli-owned ship
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on Monday for a blast aboard the MV Helios Ray, a vehicle-carrier ship.
