Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has seized an Israeli-linked container ship this morning in the Persian Gulf. The IRGC boarded the MSC Aries via helicopter as it entered the Strait of Hormuz and took all 25 Filipinos hostage:
BREAKING: Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized Israel-linked ship MSC ARIES, purported video footage shows pic.twitter.com/9oifi3sbzQ
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) April 13, 2024
MSC confirms that the MSC Aries has been seized by Iran:
Iran’s own new agency confirmed the seizure of the “Zionist ship”:
#Breaking #Iran's Tasnim Agency confirms Iranian soldiers took over a "Zionist ship" in the Gulf, saying that more details will be released.https://t.co/Xjon1ZTVKX
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) April 13, 2024
David Saranga with the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms this ship is linked to an Israeli billionaire:
The Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries is a container ship associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime, which is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group.
Saranga points out that Iran is known for harassing ships in the Persian Gulf and this is nothing new for them. However in light of the threats Iran has made against Israel over the killing of their top IRGC official recently, this certainly seems like a small bit of retaliation.