UK ambassador: Israel has its own considerations on Iran response

Israel will make its own decisions on whether to strike back at Iran after the attack on the Mercer Street ship, UK Deputy Ambassador to Israel Mark Power said on Monday, amid reports that the US and UK greenlit Israeli targets in Iran.

“Israel, like many countries in the region is threatened and must make its own considerations,” Power said, in response to KAN’s Amichai Stein question if Israel has a right to respond.

Israel, the UK and US said Iran is undoubtedly behind the bombing of the vessel off the coast of Oman on Friday, and that they would work with partners on a response.

The UAV attack which took the lives of a British and Romanian national who were aboard the Mercer Street. The ship is managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime, but is Liberian-flagged and Japanese-owned.

Power said “there is clear proof” of Iran’s culpability and the UK is working with international partners on a response, echoing remarks by UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab the day before.

“The question for Iranians who deny – If you did not do it, then who did it and who has the motivation to attack the ship?” he asked.

Power’s remark that Israel must make its own considerations came after Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported that “the Israeli army has drawn up a list of Iranian targets to respond to the attack on a tanker off the coast of Oman.”

The article is headlined with claims the US and UK have “greenlit” an Israeli response to the attack.  

The paper, which in the past has also claimed to have sources revealing Iranian attacks and Israeli responses, says that there are accelerated contacts between Israel the US. The paper says that the attack on the ship off Oman will not go unnoticed and that Israel will “deal a painful blow” in response. The article “stresses that Britain, whose nationals were killed in the attack, and the United States gave a green light to respond.” 

The paper claims that the retaliation could be against several key targets such as the port of Bandar Abbas, or “destruction of ships near Iranian shores, and the last of which is the targeting of an Iranian warship, from which it is believed that the ‘drones’ launched the attack.”

Other sources quoted in the article claimed that the Iranian attack was aimed at the Vienna nuclear talks. Iran is about to have a new President and this could be linked to his coming to office.