April 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States has requested the “immediate” release of the merchant ship linked to an Israeli company that was taken by storm this Saturday in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We strongly condemn the seizure of the Portuguese-flagged and British-owned ship 'MSC Aires' (sic) in international waters,” the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, published on her Twitter account.
“Seizing a civilian ship without provocation is a flagrant violation of international law and an act of piracy by the Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terrorist organization2,” he added.
For this reason, he has asked for it to be “unequivocally condemned” and announces that they will work with “partners” so that “Iran is held accountable for its actions.” Watson has highlighted that the crew of the 'MSC Aries' are Indians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, Russians and Estonians.
Given this situation, the White House has announced that Joe Biden would return early from his residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to Washington “to consult with his national security team on events in the Middle East.”
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy has taken over the freighter 'MSC Aries', a container freighter linked to the London-based company Zodiac Maritime. “The Zodiac Group of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer has part of the ownership of Zodiac Maritime,” reported the Iranian news agency Tasnim, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, the elite military and ideological body of the Iranian Armed Forces.
The Italian-Swiss shipping company MSC has confirmed that the ship has been boarded by Iranian authorities and that there were 25 crew members on board. “We regret to confirm that the 'MSC Aries' (…) has been boarded by the Iranian authorities with a helicopter while she was crossing the Strait of Hormuz,” she said in a statement.
