(ETH) – Israel has just warned that military action may be needed to stop further attacks by Iran, according to Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz, days after a deadly drone strike on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman according to Bloomberg News.
“Now is the time for deeds — words are not enough,” Gantz said on Wednesday. “It is time for diplomatic, economic, and even military deeds. Otherwise, the attacks will continue.”
Iran denies involvement in the assault. Gantz spoke in a meeting with ambassadors from United Nations Security Council countries. The U.S., Israel and the U.K. have all vowed to respond to the drone attack, with Israel saying it maintains its right to act independently.
According to Yahoo News, The Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess was briefly boarded by armed men on Tuesday halfway between Iran and the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman, according to a Gulf government official. The men then left the vessel around midnight local time, the official said. Bloomberg was unable to contact the ship’s Dubai-based owner or operator to confirm the information.
Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, denied that Iran’s forces boarded ships in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, and warned against “rumors and the fake news of Western and Zionist media.” The U.S. and its allies have also blamed Iran for last week’s drone attack, which caused frictions to soar in and around the waterways of the Persian Gulf that carry many of the world’s oil exports.
