Iranian forces seized an Israel-linked container ship in the Persian Gulf on Saturday, as leaders in the Middle East and beyond watched a retaliatory attack by Iran against Israel.
MSC, a major shipping company, said on Saturday that the MSC Aries, registered in Portugal, was boarded by helicopter by “Iranian authorities” as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
A video shared by Iranian state media showed a military helicopter hovering above what appeared to be the ship's stern, with at least two soldiers dropping ropes onto the deck.
According to state news agency IRNA, these soldiers are members of the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy.
US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson called on Iran to release the ship and crew immediately.
“The seizure of a civilian ship without provocation is a flagrant violation of international law and an act of piracy by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” she said in a statement. designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.” “It must be unequivocally condemned and we will work with our partners to hold Iran accountable for its actions.”
The seizure of the ship comes amid already high tensions in the region, with Israel preparing for an attack from Iran in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on Damascus on April 1 that left some Iranian military officer was killed.
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss urgent threats in the region and reiterated our steadfast support. US decision on Israel's defense, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said.
Mr. Austin made clear that Israel can count on the full support of the United States to defend itself against any attack by Iran and its regional proxies. “We are closely monitoring a planned attack by Iran and its proxies against the State of Israel,” Gallant said in a statement after the meeting.
Although operated by MSC, the 1,200-foot cargo ship belongs to a subsidiary of Zodiac Maritime, part of the Zodiac Group, owned by Israeli-born billionaire Eyal Ofer, making it a possible target for retaliation. Iranian chopsticks. Tehran announced it would retaliate after blaming Israel for the attack on the Iranian embassy building in Syria that killed 12 people, including top military generals.
Israel Katz, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, confirmed arrest on social media and said the Iranian leadership is “a criminal regime that supports the crimes of Hamas and is currently conducting a piracy operation in violation of international law.”
Six months after the Hamas attack on Israel that launched the war in Gaza, the arrests come amid fears of a wider conflict directly involving Iran. Iran is a supporter of Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen, but so far there has been no direct involvement. On Friday, President Biden said that he expected Iran to launch a retaliatory strike “sooner or later” and reiterated that the United States remains committed to defending Israel.
It is unclear whether the seizure of the ship was part of Iran's promised response to the attack in Syria, but this is not the first time Iran has directly seized a commercial vessel. IN In January, the Iranian navy arrested him an oil tanker off the coast of Oman. During that arrest, soldiers also descended from a hovering helicopter.
Before the war in Gaza, America speak that Iran has “harassed, attacked or interfered” with more than a dozen internationally flagged merchant ships in recent years.
For their part, the Houthis have disrupted a significant portion of the world's shipping by attacking dozens of ships traveling to or from the Suez Canal.
According to the ship's operator, MSC Aries has 25 crew members on board.
