File photo. [AP]
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday it has seized two container ships – including a Greek-owned vessel – in the Strait of Hormuz and escorted them to Iranian shores.
According to an IRGC statement, the vessels MSC Francesca and Epaminondas – a Liberia-flagged ship owned by Greece’s Technomar Shipping and operated by MSC – were described as “violators” and accused of endangering navigation, alleging they were “operating without the required permits and had interfered with navigation systems.”
The IRGC also claimed the MSC Francesca is linked to Israel, an assertion that has not been independently verified.
“Two violating vessels… were seized and taken to Iranian shores. Disrupting order and security in the Strait of Hormuz is a red line for us,” the statement said.
The ships’ owners could not be immediately reached for comment.
The IRGC also said it attacked a third vessel, identified as the Euphoria, claiming it had become “stranded” along the Iranian coast, without providing further details. It said no one was injured in the incidents.
There have been more than 30 attacks on ships in the Middle East since the outbreak of the conflict on February 28 following US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
The developments come after President Donald Trump said the United States would extend an indefinite ceasefire with Iran, which had been due to expire Wednesday. [Combined reports]