Israel Noncommittal About Attacking Iranian Ship

Israeli officials have refused to comment and evaded questions about the attack on an Iranian cargo shop last week, for which Tehran considers Tel Aviv as the prime suspect.  
The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group said on Friday that one of its container ships, named Shahre Kord, had come under an attack on Wednesday while sailing toward Europe in the Mediterranean Sea.
An explosive object had hit the vessel and caused a small fire that was put out immediately by crew members but caused slight damage to the ship’s hull although no one on board was hurt, according to the shipping firm. 
A technical team investigator told Nour News on Saturday that strong suspicion falls on Israel. 
“Given the geographical location of the ship and the way it was targeted, one of the strong possibilities is that this terrorist act was carried out by the Zionist regime,” the source said. 
He added that since the explosive objects hit a number of containers on the ship’s deck from a high altitude, it is likely that they were fired from a flying object.  
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh also said on Saturday that reports have confirmed an act of sabotage on the ship, which is a blatant violation of the international maritime law.
The incident comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that since 2019, Israel has been striking vessels that were either Iranian, or carried Iranian cargo, as they made their way to Syria, citing US and regional officials. 
Israeli officials on Friday did not comment when asked if Israel was behind the explosive attack and Defense Minister Benny Gantz avoided a direct response on Saturday. 
"I'm not saying anything about what we did or didn't do. We have an obligation to be preemptive on all fronts," Gantz said in a conversation with an executive director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, the Jerusalem Post reported. 
On Saturday, the London Times also published a report that details how Israeli military forces have been accused of "repeatedly" targeting Iranian oil tankers, the first one leading to an oil spill in October 2019 off the Red Sea, and the latest one being the now-infamous spill in late February, one that has been repeatedly dubbed an ecological disaster. 
In his conversation, Gantz insisted that Israel was absolutely not behind the February oil spill, saying "we have nothing to do with this incident".
"I can assure you that Israel is not responsible for the oil spill that washed up on Israel's shores," he said, blaming Iran for the incident instead. 
Israel had earlier accused Iran of being behind a similar incident in the Sea of Oman last month, where it claimed one of its cargo ships was attacked and suffered holes on both sides of its hull. 
Iran has rejected the allegation, describing the incident as “a false flag operation” by actors to pursue their malign policies and advance their illegitimate objectives.