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[Herald Economy=Reporter Jeong Ho-won] The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on the 22nd (local time) it seized three vessels that attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s permission.
Follow-up U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks have collapsed, and after President Donald Trump extended the truce deadline to the date of negotiations, Tehran appears to have tightened its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC Navy said it detained two container ships — the MSC Francesca and the Defaminodas — and brought them into Iranian territorial waters to inspect cargo and related documentation.
The IRGC specifically alleged a link between the MSC Francesca and Israel, and said the vessels repeatedly violated regulations and manipulated their Automatic Identification System (AIS). Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported that the container ship Euphoria was also seized while transiting the strait.
The IRGC Navy said it will continuously monitor actions that obstruct Iran’s law enforcement or threaten safe passage through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, warning it will take firm, lawful measures against any violators.
International outlets reported there were armed clashes during the seizures. The Associated Press said the IRGC fired on the vessels before taking them. Earlier, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz came under attack by an IRGC fast-attack boat at about 7:55 a.m.
The struck vessel told UKMTO it had not communicated with the fast-attack boat before it was hit, while Iran’s state-run Noor News claimed the IRGC fired after the ship ignored warnings. It has not been confirmed whether the vessel that was struck was one of the container ships the IRGC later announced it had seized.
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