DEVELOPMENT OF THE STORYDEVELOPMENT OF THE STORY,
According to state media, IRGC forces conducted a helicopter operation to take control of the merchant ship.
Tehran, Iran – Iranian forces have seized a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz area as tensions rose in the region following a deadly Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
The ship was seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite force that lost seven members, including two generals, in the attack on Syria, Iranian state media reported on Saturday.
“The ship has now been steered into our country’s territorial waters,” state-run IRNA reported.
The ship was the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, which was reportedly leaving a port in the United Arab Emirates en route to India. It is affiliated with London-based Zodiac Maritime, part of the Zodiac Group run by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer and his family.
Footage from the ship’s deck obtained by the Associated Press on Saturday showed soldiers rappelling from a helicopter.
The helicopter appeared to be a Soviet Mil Mi-17 operated by the IRGC naval forces.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a ship had been seized by “regional authorities” 50 nautical miles (92 km) northeast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on a waterway important to global trade.
Another Israeli-linked container ship was attacked and damaged by a drone in the Indian Ocean in late November, for which the US blamed Iran.
Rising regional tensions
The US military is moving more military assets to the Middle East as it anticipates Iranian retaliation for Israel’s attack on the consulate in Syria.
A US defense official told Al Jazeera that the move was primarily aimed at better protecting US troops in the region, but also at strengthening regional deterrence.
US media confirmed the move, but the Pentagon has not officially said what assets it is transferring to the region.
The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed U.S. officials on Friday as saying that this includes repositioning two destroyers, with one of the warships already in the region and another being diverted there.
US President Joe Biden said he expects Iranian retaliation “sooner than later” and that Washington will continue to defend Israel.
“Don’t,” he said when reporters asked him if he had a message for Iran.
Since the war on Gaza began following the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7, the US has sent thousands of bombs and ammunition to its ally Israel and deployed warships and troops to the region, despite growing international criticism.
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said Friday that Iran’s threats of retaliation against Israel remain “real” and viable.
Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command in the region, arrived in Israel on Friday to discuss a possible Iranian attack and met with senior officials including Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said that “Iran funds, trains and arms terrorist proxies in the Middle East and beyond,” adding that the Islamic Republic ““not only threatens the people of Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria,” but “fuels war in Ukraine and beyond.”
He said Israel was on “high alert” and was “ready to respond” to what he called “any Iranian aggression.”