This image, taken from video provided to The Associated Press by a Middle East defense official, shows a helicopter strike targeting a ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
AP
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This image, taken from video provided to The Associated Press by a Middle East defense official, shows a helicopter strike targeting a ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
AP
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Commandos from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard attacked an Israeli-allied container ship from a helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday and seized the vessel, the latest in a series of attacks between the two countries.
The Middle East braced for possible Iranian retaliation over a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian consular building in Syria earlier this month that killed 12 people, including a senior Guards general who once led his expeditionary force there. Took command of the force.
Meanwhile, Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip is now six months old and is escalating decades-old tensions across the region. With Iranian-backed forces such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Yemen’s Houthi rebels also involved in the fighting, any new attacks in the Middle East risk escalating that conflict into a broader regional war.
Iran’s state-run IRNA said a special forces unit of the Guard’s navy attacked the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, a container ship belonging to London-based Zodiac Maritime.
Zodiac Maritime is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. Zodiac declined to comment and referred questions to MSC. Geneva-based MSC later acknowledged the seizure and said there were 25 crew members on board.
“We are working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure their well-being and the safe return of the ship,” MSC said.
An Indian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give information to journalists, said 17 of the crew were Indians.
IRNA said the guards would escort the ship into Iranian territorial waters.
Earlier, a Middle East defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, shared a video of the attack with The Associated Press. In this, Iranian commandos are seen crawling on a pile of containers sitting on the deck of the ship.
A crew member onboard can be heard saying: “Don’t come out.” He then tells his colleagues to move to the ship’s bridge as more commandos descend on the deck. One commando can be seen kneeling above others to provide possible cover fire.
The video matches the known description of MSC Aries. The helicopter used appears to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which both the Guards and Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis have used in the past to conduct commando raids on ships.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the ship was “seized by regional authorities” in the Gulf of Oman near the Emirati port city of Fujairah, without elaborating.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on nations to list the Guard as a terrorist organization.
Katz said, “Iran is a criminal regime that supports the crimes of Hamas and is now running a piracy campaign in violation of international law.”
Since 2019, Iran has launched a series of seizure of ships and attacks on ships amid ongoing tensions with the West over its fast-growing nuclear program.
Since November, Iran had halted its ship attacks as the Houthis targeted ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Houthi attacks have slowed in recent weeks as the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan ended and the rebels have faced months of US-led airstrikes.
In previous attacks, Iran has offered initial explanations about its operations to make it appear that the attacks were unrelated to broader geopolitical tensions – although this was later acknowledged. However, in Saturday’s attack, Iran offered no explanation for the seizure other than to say flatly that the MSC Aries had ties to Israel.
Iran is threatening action after Israeli attack in Syria
For several days, Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been threatening to “slap” Israel for the Syria attack. Western governments have issued warnings to their citizens in the region to prepare for attacks.
However, in the past Iran has largely refrained from directly attacking Israel, despite targeted assassinations of nuclear scientists and carrying out numerous sabotage campaigns against Iranian nuclear sites. However, Iran has targeted Israeli or Jewish-linked sites through proxy forces for decades.
Earlier this week, Guard General Ali Reza Tangsiri, who oversees Iran’s naval forces, criticized the Israelis’ presence in the region and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE reached a diplomatic recognition agreement with Israel in 2020, which has long angered Tehran.
Tangsiri reportedly said, “We know that bringing the Zionists to this point is not just for the sake of economic work.” “Now, they’re actually performing security and military functions. It’s a threat, and it shouldn’t happen.”
The US, Israel’s main supporter, is standing by the country despite growing concerns over Israel’s war on Gaza that has killed more than 33,600 Palestinians and injured more than 76,200. Israel’s war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.
On Friday, President Joe Biden warned Iran not to attack Israel and said he thought an Iranian attack on Israel would happen “sooner than later.”
“We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” Biden said.
The Gulf of Oman is near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through which one-fifth of globally traded oil passes. Fujairah, on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates, is a main port in the region for ships taking on new oil cargo, taking on supplies or trading crew.
Since 2019, the waters off Fujairah have seen a series of explosions and hijackings. The US Navy blamed Iran for mine attacks on ships that damaged tankers. Meanwhile, the UAE has sought to improve relations with Iran and issued a statement condemning the suspected Israeli attack in Syria.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa Group said on Saturday it had extended the suspension of its flights between Frankfurt and Tehran until Thursday and said all its aircraft would avoid Iranian airspace during that period. The German carrier also said that, until at least Tuesday, flights to and from Amman would be operated as “day flights” so that crews could return to Frankfurt without spending a night in the Jordanian capital.
Dutch airline KLM said in a statement on Saturday that it would no longer fly over Iran or Israel, but would continue flights to Tel Aviv, which are not currently considered risky. “Safety is the top priority,” KLM said.
