On Saturday Maritime security agencies reported the seizure of a vessel by unidentified regional authorities in the waters between the United Arab Emirates and Iran.
This incident comes just days after Iran threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) pinpointed the seizure location 50 nautical miles northeast of Fujairah, a key port city in the UAE bordering the Strait.
Marine tracking sites said the vessel was the MSC Aries of Zodiac Maritime, an international shipping company partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer. Iranian authorities did not immediately issue any public statement on the incident. ‘We are aware of the situation reported by UKMTO and we are keeping track of it but will not confirm or deny the name of the vessel when asked if it was the MSC Aries’, said a US defence official.
On Tuesday, the naval head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Alireza Tangsiri said that it can close the Strait of Hormuz if deemed necessary. He stated Iran viewed as a threat Israel’s presence in the UAE, with which Israel established diplomatic relations in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords mediated by the United States.
Tangsiri’s statement comes amidst tensions in the region. Since Israel-Gaza war started in October, clashes between Israel and US on one side, and Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen on the other, have become increasingly frequent.
Iran has threatened to retaliate for suspected Israeli airstrikes on its consulate in Syria’s capital Damascus on April 1. On Friday, US President Joe Biden said he expected Iran to attack Israel sooner, rather than later and warned Tehran not to proceed.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have been disrupting global trade by attacking ships in the Red Sea for months.
