Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday seized a container ship “linked to the Zionist regime in the Gulf (Israel)” as tensions rise in the region, state media reported.
The Israeli military warned on Saturday that Iran would suffer the “consequences” of an escalation of conflict in the region, after Iran announced it had seized the ship.
“Iran will bear the consequences of choosing to further escalate the situation,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement.
“A container ship named ‘MCS Aries’ was seized by the Sepah (Guards) Naval Special Forces during a helicopter operation,” IRNA reported.
It added that the operation took place “near the Strait of Hormuz”, a waterway vital to world trade, and “the ship has now sailed towards Iranian territorial waters”.
Iran’s report came after two maritime security agencies said “regional authorities” seized a vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
The Royal Navy’s UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said the vessel “has reportedly been seized by regional authorities” off the coast of Fujairah, without providing further details.
Security firm Ambrey said it had “observed static footage of at least three people quickly rope climbing from a helicopter onto what appeared to be a container ship”.
Ambre added that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had “previously used this boarding method when seizing ships in the Strait of Hormuz.”
portugal flag
Vessel tracking websites Vesselfinder.com and MarineTraffic.com said the MSC Aries is a Portuguese-flagged container ship. Both locations gave their last reported positions in the bay.
The United States said on Friday it was sending military reinforcements to the region after Iran vowed to retaliate for a deadly attack on the consular quarter of its embassy in Damascus, Syria, nearly two weeks ago.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he expected Iran to strike “sooner rather than later” against arch-enemy Israel, which Tehran blamed for the consular attack.
The April 1 attack killed at least seven members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, including two generals.
The heightened tensions come against the backdrop of Israel’s six-month war in Gaza against Palestinian militants of Iran-backed Hamas.
The conflict has since attracted regional players, including Iranian-backed groups in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have carried out dozens of missile and drone attacks on shipping in the Red Sea region and in November seized the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship with ties to Israel. The crew remains detained.
Tehran has always supported Hamas but has repeatedly denied direct involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war.
Iran seized an oil tanker off the coast of Oman in January in retaliation for the U.S. “theft” of the tanker’s oil.
The Iranian navy boarded the Greek-owned San Nicolas and later released the crew.
Most of the world’s oil transported by sea passes through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran said the latest incident occurred.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
