Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Iran for a blast aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week but sidestepped a question on whether Israel would retaliate.

The MV Helios Ray, a vehicle-carrier ship, was hit on Friday morning as it was sailing out of the Middle East on its way to Singapore. A US official said the blast above the water line had ripped holes in both sides of its hull.

The Israeli-owned cargo ship, Helios Ray, sits docked in Dubai after it was damaged by an unexplained blast at the gulf of Oman.Credit:AP

The crew was unharmed in the blast, and the ship docked at Dubai’s port for repairs and inspection on Sunday.

It remains unclear what caused the blast. The Helios Ray had discharged cars at various ports in the Persian Gulf before the explosion forced it to reverse course.

“This was indeed an operation by Iran. That is clear,” Netanyahu told Kan radio on Monday, Israel time.

Asked if Israel would retaliate, he repeated previous statements about his determination to prevent Iran from developing nuclear capacity and added:”Iran is the greatest enemy of Israel, I am determined to halt it. We are hitting it in the entire region.”

Tehran has not commented on the incident nor responded to earlier Israeli accusations that it might have been involved.

Kan said the Netanyahu interview was pre-recorded on Sunday night, before Syria accused Israel of carrying out missile strikes around southern Damascus.

Israel did not confirm carrying out those strikes, but has previously said it was launching frequent military actions against Iranian deployment or arms handovers within Syria.

Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on reports that Israeli officials were in Dubai investigating the attack on Monday.

Reuters with AP

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