Israel warns UN: We will 'take all necessary measures to protect' citizens after Israeli cargo ship attacked

Israel is calling on the United Nations to condemn the attack on an Israeli civilian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman last week and has warned that it will “take all necessary measures to protect its citizens.”

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, filed an official letter of complaint to the United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday blaming Iran for the attack. Iran has not claimed responsibility and an investigation is underway.

“Israel has repeatedly warned of Iran’s unceasing malignant activities and has highlighted these violations in numerous calls to the international community and letters to the United Nations Security Council, providing concrete, verified and documented evidence of the Iranian regime’s reckless and illicit behavior in the Middle East and beyond,” Erdan wrote.

On Feb. 25, the Helios Ray, an Israeli-owned vessel, was badly damaged as it made its way from a port in Saudi Arabia to Singapore.

In his letter, Erdan specifies that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attached an explosive device to the vessel causing “severe damage, forcing the ship to return to the port of Dubai to ensure the safety of the crew.”

He notes that Iran has been a menace to other vessels in international waters.

“In early January 2021, the IRGC seized a South Korean flagged tanker in the Gulf waters and detained its crew. In May 2019, four commercial vessels were attacked and severely damaged by the IRGC in the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates, east of the port of Fujairah,” Erdan wrote. “These and other repeated Iranian and Iranian-sponsored terrorist attacks at sea not only jeopardize the safety and security of international shipping in flagrant violation of international conventions and norms relating to maritime safety and navigation, but also constitute blatant and repeated violations of the United Nations Charter and of Security Council Resolutions.”

“This and previously reported attacks prove yet again that Iran will use any means to destabilize the region while continuing to fail to live up to its own obligations under international law,” Erdan continued. “I urge the Security Council to condemn the Iranian violations of the United Nations Charter and hold the Iranian regime responsible for this attack and for destabilizing the region.”

The vessel has since left the Dubai port and is sailing again after spending several days on shore for repairs.