(Bloomberg) --

Iran on Thursday blamed Israel for a drone attack on an ammunition depot last weekend that has escalated tensions in the energy-rich Persian Gulf, and said it had the right to respond.

Initial investigations show Israel is responsible for the “terrorist attack” on the Defense Ministry site near the central city of Isfahan last Saturday, Iran’s state-run Nour News said. It cited a letter by Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Iran Blames Foreign Spies, Iraq-Based Kurds for Drone Strike

Iran has previously retaliated to attacks by targeting or seizing ships in the Persian Gulf, a key transit area for global oil shipments, or by striking targets in northern Iraq, where it has accused Kurdish groups of working with other countries to attack Iran. 

Iran has the right to respond to any threat by Israel “wherever and whenever it deems necessary,” Iravani wrote, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.

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The direct accusation against Israel comes a day after Iran said Kurdish groups in northern Iraq helped a “foreign security service” to smuggle equipment for the attack into Iran.

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