The Revolutionary Guard of Iran has captured a ship “linked” to Israel in the Persian Gulf, further raising tension in middle Easta region already on alert for possible retaliation by Tehran against Israel for the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

“The Navy of the Revolutionary Guard seized a cargo ship associated with the Zionist regime“, reported the Tasnim agency, linked to this elite military body. For its part, the state agency IRNA has indicated that the ship is now heading to the territorial waters of Iran.

The captured ship would be the ‘MSC ARIES’, with Portuguese flag, linked, according to Tasnim, to the Israeli-owned company ‘Zodiac Maritime’. Iranian media have shown videos of soldiers descending from a helicopter and boarding a ship.

In turn, the MSC company has confirmed that 25 crew members are on board. “We regret to confirm that the vessel MSC Aries, owned by Gortal Shipping Inc, affiliated with Zodiac Maritime and chartered to MSC, was boarded by Iranian authorities with a helicopter while crossing the Strait of Hormuz at around 02:43 GMT this morning.” , has indicated in a statement, in which he points out that the ship “has been diverted from its route to Iran“.

“The ship has 25 crew members on board. The company is working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure their well-being and the safe return of the ship,” the note adds. In turn, Indian authorities have revealed that 17 of the crew are Indians and that they are in contact with the Iranian authorities “to ensure the safety, well-being and prompt release of Indian citizens.”

The Iranian confirmation of the attack came after the British Navy reported the boarding of a ship 50 miles northeast of the port city of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates and off the coast of Iran, “seized by regional authorities,” without giving more details about the incident or identifying the ship. The ship, according to maritime portals, left Khalifa, in the Emirates, heading to India, and the last position received from it was on Friday in the same place where the collision took place.

The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy, Ali Reza Tangsirí, already warned last Tuesday that Iran could block the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of crude oil traffic passes by sea, if the “enemy” pressures the Persian country.

Israel asks the EU to declare the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, was quick to confirm the capture of the cargo ship in the Persian Gulf and has asked the European Union to declare it a “terrorist organization” to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. “The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has seized a Portuguese civilian cargo ship, belonging to an EU member, which it claims to be Israeli property,” he said in a statement.

For its part, the Portuguese Foreign Ministry has indicated that “it is in contact with the Iranian authorities, having requested clarifications and requested additional information” regarding the capture of the ship.

More tension in the Middle East

The boarding of the cargo ship is framed in a context in which the Middle East is on alert since the attack attributed to Israel on April 1 against the Iranian consulate in Damascus (Syria), in which senior members of the Revolutionary Guard died. and after the subsequent threats of retaliation against the Jewish State. Six Syrians and seven members of the Revolutionary Guard were killed in that attack, including the leader of its Quds Forces branch for Syria and Lebanon, Brigadier General Mohamed Reza Zahedi.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly insisted in recent weeks that “the Zionist regime must be and will be punished”threats that have been repeated by practically all the country’s senior officials after the attack in Damascus.

For his part, the president of the United States, Joe Bidenconsider that Iran’s attack on Israel will come “sooner rather than later” and American media assure that the Iranian response is imminent. Israel, for its part, affirms that it is on “high alert” to protect itself from “new Iranian aggressions,” as its military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, reiterated this Saturday.