Iran seizes Israeli-linked cargo ship in Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, days after Tehran warned it would retaliate for an Israeli strike on its Syria consulate.
Iran’s IRNA news agency reported that an IRGC helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters the Portuguese flagged MSC Aries, saying it was linked to Israel.
MSC, which operates the Aries, confirmed Iran had seized the ship and said it was working “with the relevant authorities” for its safe return and the wellbeing of its 25 crew.
MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac said in a statement, adding that MSC is responsible for all the vessel’s activities. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.
The incident comes amid rising regional tensions since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October, with Israel or its ally the United States clashing repeatedly with resistance groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Iran has threatened to retaliate for Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Syria’s capital Damascus on April 1 that killed seven IRGC members including two senior generals.
US President Joe Biden said on Friday he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to do so.
“Don’t,” he said when asked by reporters if he had a message for Iran.
Israel’s military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said “Iran will bear consequences for choosing to escalate this situation any further”, in response to reports of the seizure of MSC Aries.
Israel panicking
However, an adviser to Iran’s Leader said Saturday that Israel is panicking over a possible retaliatory response from Iran.
“It has been a week that the Zionists are in complete panic and are on alert,” Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior adviser to Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
“They don’t know what Iran wants to do, so they and their supporters are terrified,” ISNA quoted him as saying.
“This psychological, media and political war is more terrifying for them than the war itself, because they are waiting for an attack every night and many of them have fled and gone to shelters,” Safavi added.
The US military is moving more military assets to the Middle East as it anticipates an Iranian response to the Israeli attack on the consulate in Syria.
US media confirmed the move but the Pentagon has not officially said which assets it is moving to the region.
The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed US officials as saying on Friday that it includes repositioning two destroyers, with one of the warships already in the region and another redirected there.
Diplomatic efforts
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are underway to prevent a possible Iran’s response.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to urge “maximum restraint” to avoid further escalation.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that, “Right now it’s very important for everyone to maintain restraint so as not to lead to a complete destabilization of the situation in the region, which doesn’t exactly shine with stability and predictability,”
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also called the Iranian foreign minister to appeal for “restraint” by the Islamic Republic.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called on Iran to show restraint over the expected response.
“We cannot risk escalation at such an extremely volatile stage. All regional actors must show responsibility,” the top Italian diplomat said.
The US has also asked China and other countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to urge Tehran not to launch a retaliatory attack on Israel.
Other western and Arab governments have also sought to convince Iran to show restraint.