U.S. President Joe Biden cut his weekend short for urgent consultations on “events in the Middle East” Iran seized a container ship near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the sea routes most used by merchant shipping.
Iran did not indicate whether this operation was linked to their recent threats of reprisals after the deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. Some 25 crew members are on board the container ship MSC Aries, whose control has been taken by the maritime special forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, according to the Italian shipowner. The ship is made up of Indians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, Russians and Estonians, the National Security Council said in a statement.. The U.S., Britain and France strongly condemn Iran’s seizure in international waters of the Portuguese-flagged and British-owned ship M SC Aires, a U.N. spokesperson said. “Seizing a civilian vessel without prior cause is a flagrant violation of international law and an act of piracy on the part of theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” she said.