Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a container ship near the Strait of Hormuz

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Commandos from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guards seized an Israeli container ship from a helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks between the two countries.

The Middle East braced for possible Iranian retaliation after an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria earlier this month killed 12 people, including a senior Guard general who once commanded its expeditionary Quds Force there.

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It's six months into Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and is fueling decades-long tensions across the region. With Iranian-backed forces such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen also involved in the fighting, any new offensive in the Middle East risks turning the conflict into a wider regional war.

According to Iran's state-run IRNA agency, special forces of the Guards Navy attacked the Portuguese-flagged container ship MSC Aries, which is linked to London-based Zodiac Maritime.

Zodiac Maritime is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer's Zodiac Group. Zodiac declined to comment and referred questions to MSC. Geneva-based MSC later acknowledged the seizure and said the ship had 25 crew members on board.

“We are working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure their safety and the safe return of the ship,” MSC said.

An Indian government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said 17 of the crew were Indians.

According to IRNA, the Guardians will take the ship into the territorial waters of Iran.

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Earlier, a Middle East defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, shared video of the attack with The Associated Press. It shows Iranian commandos falling onto a pile of containers sitting on the deck of a ship.

A crew member on the ship can be heard saying, “You can't get out.” He then tells his colleagues to go to the ship's bridge as more teams come down on deck. One commando can be seen kneeling over the others, providing them with potential defensive fire.

The video matched what was known about the MSC Aries. The helicopter used appeared to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17, which the Guard and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis have previously used to conduct commando raids on ships.

The British military's UK Merchant Marine Operations described the vessel as having been “seized by regional authorities” in the Gulf of Oman near the Emirate's port of Fujairah.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on nations to designate the Guard as a terrorist organization.

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Iran is “a criminal regime that supports the crimes of Hamas and is now conducting a piracy operation in violation of international law,” Katz said.

Iran has been carrying out a series of ship seizures since 2019, and the attacks come amid ongoing tensions with the West over its fast-growing nuclear program.

Since November, Iran has halted its ship attacks as the Houthis have targeted shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. The insurgency has slowed in recent weeks as the Muslim holy month of fasting comes to an end and faces U.S.-led airstrikes.

During the previous invasion, Iran offered initial explanations of its operations to make the attacks seem unrelated to wider geopolitical tensions, but later admitted this. However, in Saturday's attack, Iran offered no explanation for the seizure of the MSC Aries, other than to say it had links to Israel.

For several days, officials up to and including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been threatening to “slap” Israel for striking Syria. Western governments have warned their citizens in the region to be prepared for attacks.

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However, Iran has avoided direct attacks on Israel in the past, despite the targeted assassination of nuclear scientists and repeated sabotage campaigns against Iran's nuclear facilities. For decades, however, Iran has targeted Israeli or Jewish-affiliated sites through its proxy forces.

Earlier this week, Guards General Ali Reza Tangsiri, who oversees Iran's naval forces, criticized the Israeli presence in the region and in the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates reached a diplomatic deal with Israel in 2020 that has long angered Tehran.

“We know that bringing Zionists here is not just for economic work,” Tangsiri said. “Now they are doing security and military work. It's a threat and it shouldn't happen.”

Despite growing concern over Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 33,600 Palestinians and injured more than 76,200, Israel's main backer, the United States, has stood by the country. Israel's war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.

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On Friday, President Joe Biden warned Iran against attacking Israel and said an Iranian attack on Israel could be “premature.”

“We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed,” Biden added.

The Gulf of Oman is close to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which one-fifth of the world's traded oil passes. Located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates, Fujairah is the main port in the region where ships take on new oil cargoes, receive supplies or trade crew.

Since 2019, there have been several explosions and hijackings in the waters off Fujairah. The US Navy has blamed Iran for mine attacks on ships that damaged tankers. The United Arab Emirates has issued a statement condemning Israel's suspected attack in Syria as it seeks to mend relations with Iran.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa Group said on Saturday that it had extended the suspension of flights between Frankfurt and Tehran until Thursday, and that all of its planes would bypass Iranian airspace during that period. The German carrier also said flights to and from Amman would operate as “day flights” until at least Tuesday, so crews could return to Frankfurt without spending the night in the Jordanian capital.

Dutch airline KLM said in a statement on Saturday that it would no longer fly through Iran or Israel, but would continue to fly to Tel Aviv and destinations not currently considered dangerous. “Safety has the highest priority,” KLM said.

Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Krutika Pathi in New Delhi, Stephen Graham in Berlin and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed to this report.

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