Mideast Conflict: Iran Seizes Israel-Linked Container Ship Near Hormuz

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized an Israel-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman on Saturday, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

IRGC special forces boarded the MSC Aries from a helicopter and directed it toward Iranian territorial waters, the Islamic Republic News Agency said, without giving a reason for the seizure.

The vessel’s beneficial owner is Zodiac Maritime Ltd., part of Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. No one responded to a call to Zodiac’s office in London, outside of normal business hours.

The vessel last called at the United Arab Emirates’ Khalifa Port and was sailing east toward the Strait of Hormuz as of Friday evening local time. Security and intelligence firm Ambrey Analytics said it received information of a “boarding” around 50 nautical miles northeast of the UAE’s Fujairah.

The seizure comes as Israel braces for an Iranian response to a suspected Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy in Syria on April 1. Potential scenarios had included an unprecedented drone and missile strike on Israeli territory as early as this week, Bloomberg reported.

Israel Bracing for Unprecedented Direct Iran Attack in Days (3)

Zodiac’s ships have been repeatedly targeted in attacks in the same area in recent years that the US and Israel have blamed on Iran. Tehran previously denied involvement.

Most recently, an airborne object hit the Campo Square oil tanker in the Arabian Sea in Feb. 2023.