Tehran
\nIran has been accused of seizing a commercial ship with links to Israel early on Saturday morning as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
\nThe MSC Aries was boarded by Iranian special forces about 50 miles (80km) off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a statement from MSC said.
\nFootage obtained by Reuters news agency appeared to show troops rappelling onto the vessel from a helicopter.
\nThe Portuguese-flagged ship is linked to Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.
\nThe incident comes amid heightened expectation of an Iranian attack on Israel after an airstrike destroyed Iran\u2019s consulate in Damascus at the start of April. Israel said on Saturday Iran would bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further.
\nTracking data last showed the MSC Aries off the coast of the UAE, heading towards the Strait of Hormuz over 18 hours ago. It then appeared to turn off its tracking data, which is common for Israeli-affiliated ships in the region.
\nThe UK\u2019s Maritime Trade Operations agency confirmed the boarding in a statement. It made no mention of Iranian involvement, instead stating that the ship had been seized by \u201cregional authorities\u201d off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE.
\nHowever, Iranian media has been quick to trumpet the involvement of the country\u2019s special forces in the attack.
\nThe country\u2019s state news agency, Irna, said the naval branch of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) had seized the MSC Aries as it was \u201clinked to Israel\u201d. It added that the ship was in the process of being transported to Iranian waters.
\nIn video footage, troops could be seen rappelling onto the vessel from a helicopter hovering overhead. A crew member could be heard shouting: \u201cDon\u2019t come out.\u201d
\nIn the video, one commando could also be seen kneeling to provide cover fire as other troops boarded the ship. According to MSC there were 25 crew members onboard at the time of the seizure.
\nOfficials in Tehran have yet to comment on the seizure.
\nThe ship is managed by MSC, which leases the vessel from Gortal Shipping Inc – a company affiliated with Mr Ofer\u2019s Zodiac Maritime.
\nIn response to the attack, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the European Union \u201cto immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards corps as a terrorist organization and to sanction Iran\u201d in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying that the cargo ship belongs to an EU member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tehran Iran has been accused of seizing a commercial ship with links to Israel early on Saturday morning as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The MSC Aries was boarded by Iranian special forces about 50 miles (80km) off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a statement from MSC said. Footage obtained by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-399956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n