A video seen by the Associated Press shows Iranian commandos attacking a ship near the Strait of Hormuz, an attack that a Middle Eastern defense official attributes to the Iranian regime amid broader tensions between Tehran and the West.
The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with Iranian regime security agencies, confirmed this news shortly after the publication of reports by foreign media and wrote, “The naval commandos of the Revolutionary Guards seized a cargo ship affiliated with the Zionist regime in the Persian Gulf region this afternoon.”
This video depicts an attack previously reported by the British Royal Navy’s Maritime Trade Operations Institute. The institute had reported the “detention of this ship by regional authorities” in the Gulf of Oman near the port city of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, without providing details.
A defense official who requested anonymity and spoke about intelligence matters shared this video with the Associated Press. In it, commandos descend onto containers on the ship’s deck from a helicopter.
In the film, a crew member can be heard saying, “Get out.” He then tells his colleagues to go to the ship’s bridge as more commandos descend onto the deck. One of the commandos can be seen kneeling above the others to provide potential covering fire.
However, given the known details consistent with previous incidents, it appears that the helicopter used was also previously used by the Revolutionary Guards in attacks on other ships. This was later confirmed by the Tasnim News Agency.
The ship involved is likely the MSC Aries flying the Portuguese flag, a cargo ship associated with Zodiac Maritime, based in London. This company is part of the “Zodiac” group owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. Zodiac refrained from commenting and referred questions to MSC, which did not immediately respond to inquiries.
The MSC Aries was last located near Dubai on Friday and was heading towards the Strait of Hormuz. The ship had turned off its tracking data, a common practice for Israeli-affiliated ships moving through the region.
This incident occurs against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Iran and the West, especially following an attack attributed to Israel on the Iranian regime’s consulate in Syria.
Iran has not immediately confirmed the detention of any ship, but the Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, confirmed this action hours later and attributed it to the naval forces of the Revolutionary Guards.
Since 2019, the Iranian regime has been involved in the detention of several ships and attacks on ships affiliated with it amid ongoing tensions with the West over its nuclear program.
