Iranian special forces seize cargo vessel in a key shipping lane, state media reports
Iranian special forces seized a container ship near the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane to the Persian Gulf, the state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday.
Iranian special forces seized a container ship near the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane to the Persian Gulf, the state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday.
Navy special forces from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used a helicopter to board and seize a container ship, IRNA news reported, adding that the MSC Aries was being transferred to Iranian territorial waters.
Video on the state-owned news network Press TV showed what it said were people using a rope to drop onto the ship. NBC News could not independently verify the footage.
The move could escalate tensions in a region reeling from the war in Gaza and a recent strike, suspected to have been carried out by Israel, that killed senior Iranian military officers. Since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 terror attack and mass hostage taking and Israel’s subsequent full-scale assault on the Gaza Strip, more than 33,000 people have been killed and 75,000 others have been injured.
And attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants on ships in the Red Sea have already rocked global trade as several major shipping lines and oil transporters suspended their services through the waterway.
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