Commandos from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard dropped from a helicopter onto an Israeli-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday and seized the vessel. This was the newest in a series of attacks between the 2 countries.
The Middle East had been preparing for a possible Iranian retaliation a suspected Israeli attack Earlier this month, there was an attack at an Iranian consulate constructing in Syria that killed 12 people, including a senior Guard general who once commanded the Quds Force there.
The The Israeli war is Hamas The crisis in Gaza is now six months old and is exacerbating decades-long tensions across the region. With Iranian-backed forces akin to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen also involved within the fighting, any recent attack within the Middle East threatens to escalate this conflict right into a larger regional war.
Iran’s state-run IRNA said a special Guards Navy unit carried out the attack on the ship, the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, a container ship owned by London-based Zodiac Maritime.
Zodiac Maritime is an element of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. Zodiac declined to comment and referred inquiries to MSC. Geneva-based MSC later confirmed the seizure and said 25 crew members were on board the ship. IRNA said the Guard would take the ship into Iranian territorial waters.
Earlier, a Middle Eastern defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to debate intelligence matters, shared a video of the attack with The Associated Press. It shows Iranian commandos rappelling down onto a stack of containers on the deck of the ship.
A crew member on the ship could be heard saying, “Don’t come out.” He then tells his colleagues to go to the ship’s bridge as more commandos land on the deck. One commando is seen kneeling over the opposite to supply them with potential cover from fire.
The video corresponded to known details of the MSC Aries. The helicopter used also seemed to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which each the Guard and Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have used prior to now for commando attacks on ships.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations described the ship as “seized by regional authorities” within the Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of Fujairah, without elaborating.
The MSC Aries was last positioned on Friday off Dubai on its approach to the Strait of Hormuz. The ship had its tracking data turned off, which was common practice for Israeli-linked ships passing through the region.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on nations to designate the Guard as a terrorist organization.
Iran “is a criminal regime that supports the crimes of Hamas and is now conducting a piracy operation that violates international law,” Katz said.
Iran has been involved in a series of ship seizures since 2019 and attacks on ships have been attributed to it as tensions with the West proceed over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.
Since November, Iran had scaled back its shipping attacks because the Houthis attacked ships within the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Houthi attacks have slowed in recent weeks because the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ended and the rebels faced months of U.S.-led airstrikes against them.
In previous attacks, Iran has initially issued statements about its operations to make it appear that the attacks were unrelated to broader geopolitical tensions – even though it has later admitted as much. However, Iran offered no explanation for the seizure on Saturday apart from to say that the MSC Aries had ties to Israel.
For days, Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been threatening to “slap” Israel for the Syria attack. Western governments have warned their residents within the region to arrange for attacks.
However, Iran has largely avoided a direct attack on Israel prior to now, even though it has targeted nuclear scientists and carried out several sabotage campaigns against Iranian nuclear sites. However, Iran has targeted Israeli or Jewish-related web sites through proxy forces over the many years.
Earlier this week, Guard General Ali Reza Tangsiri, who oversees the naval force, criticized the presence of Israelis within the region and the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates reached a diplomatic recognition take care of Israel in 2020, which has long angered Tehran.
“We know that the involvement of Zionists in this issue is not just for economic work,” Tangsiri reportedly said. “Now they actually carry out security and military tasks. This is a threat and this shouldn’t happen.”
The United States, Israel’s fundamental backer, has stood by the country despite growing concerns over Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed greater than 33,600 Palestinians and injured greater than 76,200 others. Israel’s war began after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage.
On Friday, President Joe Biden warned Iran against attacking Israel, saying he believes an Iranian attack on Israel will likely come “sooner than later.”
“We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed,” Biden added.
The Gulf of Oman lies near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil flows. Fujairah, on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates, is a key port within the region where ships tackle recent cargoes of oil, pick up supplies or exchange crews.
The waters off Fujairah have been visible since 2019 a series of explosions and kidnappings. The US Navy blamed Iran for limpet mine attacks on ships that damaged tankers. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, has sought to enhance ties with Iran, issuing a press release condemning the alleged Israeli strike in Syria.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa Group said on Saturday that it had prolonged the suspension of its flights between Frankfurt and Tehran until Thursday and that every one of its aircraft would avoid Iranian airspace during this era. The German airline also said flights to and from Amman will likely be operated as “day flights” until not less than Tuesday, allowing crews to return to Frankfurt without having to spend an evening within the Jordanian capital.
Dutch airline KLM said in a press release on Saturday that it could not fly over Iran or Israel but would proceed to supply flights to and from Tel Aviv, a destination not currently considered dangerous. “Safety is the top priority,” KLM said.
