Asked about Israel’s involvement in a 12 March “terrorist attack” on an Iranian cargo vessel, Defence Minister Benny Gantz maintained that “I’m not saying anything about what we did or didn’t do. We have an obligation to be preemptive on all fronts… By land, they [ie, Iranians] are supporting militias in Iraq and Syria – and by air and sea, they are sending weapons to Lebanon”.  Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson subsequently contended that “given the geographical location of the attack it is possible that this terrorist act was carried out by the Zionist regime [ie, Israel]”. He further asserted that “Iran would consider all options when it finds out who has been involved in this operation, and will resort to them to protect its legitimate rights”.