Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Navy has boarded the container ship MSC ARIES, considered “connected to Israel”, in the Strait of Hormuz. The reports the Iranian News Agency Tasnim. The attack could constitute retaliation for the raid attributed to Tel Aviv against the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which cost the lives of seven Pasdaran officers, including the commander and his deputy in Syria and Lebanon.
Second Tasnim, the seized vessel “operates under the flag of Portugal and is linked to the London-based Zodiac Maritime company, owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.” Meanwhile, the official Iranian news agency Irna published a video in which a Pasdaran Navy special forces helicopter can be seen attacking the ship and seizing it. The shipping company has not yet commented on the news.
For its part, however, Israel warned Tehran that “it will suffer the consequences of choosing to further aggravate the situation”. In a video published in English immediately confirming the seizure of the MSC ARIES, the spokesperson of the Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, who did not mention the incident, accused Iran of being “the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world” .
“Its terrorist network not only threatens the people of Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria: the Iranian regime is fueling the war in Ukraine and beyond,” said Hagari, according to whom “Israel is on maximum alert.” “We have increased our readiness to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression,” added the IDF spokesperson. “We are also ready to respond: the IDF is prepared for all scenarios and will take the necessary measures – together with our allies – to protect the people of Israel.”
The news of the boarding had been given shortly before by the British authorities who, however, had not identified the ship or those responsible for the seizure. In recent days, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Navy, Ali Reza Tangsir, had defined the presence of Israeli interests in the United Arab Emirates as “a threat”.
“We know that the Zionists (Israel) were not brought to the UAE for economic purposes but rather for security and military activities,” Tangsir had said, as reported by the Iranian News Agency Isna. “This is a threat to us and should not exist.”
The Arab Gulf and the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz through which most of the world's oil transported by sea passes, the Pasdaran exponent added, are not suitable places for the Israelis. Tangsir had not specified whether Tehran intended to attack Israel's interests in the United Arab Emirates.
Iran has threatened retaliation after airstrikes blamed on Tel Aviv destroyed a building attached to the country's consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing seven Revolutionary Guards officers including their on-site commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and the his deputy Mohammad Haj Rahimi. The United Arab Emirates, located across the Gulf from Iran, became the most prominent Arab nation to establish diplomatic ties with Israel after signing the Abraham Accords.
#Iran #Pasdaran #board #container #ship #connected #Israel #Strait #Hormuz
