Iran seizes MSC container ship ‘linked to Israel’

2024-04-13 12:15:00

New sign of rising tensions between Israel and Iran. A ship was seized on Saturday April 13 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, an ideological army close to power, near the Strait of Hormuz, reports the Press Agency of the Islamic Republic (Irna), before being returned to the territorial waters of the country. It is an MSC Aries container ship, managed by Zodiac Maritime. This company belongs to the Israeli billionaire Israeli Eyal Ofer.

MSC says it is working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure the well-being of the crew and the safe return of the ship.

For his part, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the European Union to place the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, on the list of “terrorist organizations”.

First ship seized by Iran since January

This seizure of the ship comes a few days after a deadly strike attributed to Israel against an annex of the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 which left 16 dead. Iran had promised to punish Israel, making US President Joe Biden fear an imminent strike.

This is the first time since January that Iran seizes an Israeli ship, points it Financial Times. Tehran is also more accustomed to seizing oil tankers rather than container ships.

Container ships have mostly stopped plying Yemen’s waters since December, after the Iran-backed Houthi armed group launched a series of attacks on Israel-linked vessels in the UK and the United States, under the pretext of supporting Gaza. However, the route passing through the Strait of Hormuz had not caused concern until now, specifies the British daily.