Tehran has vowed a retaliatory strike after blaming Israel for an attack on an Iranian embassy building in Syria that killed 12 people, among them top military generals.
Iran is a backer of Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, but has so far stayed clear of direct involvement.
On Friday, President Biden said that he expected Iran to launch a retaliatory attack “sooner than later,” and reiterated that the United States remained committed to the defense of Israel.
It was not immediately clear if the seizure of the ship was part of Iran’s promised response to the attack in Syria, but it was not the first time Iran had directly seized a commercial vessel.
Before the war in Gaza, the United States said that Iran had “harassed, attacked or interfered” with more than a dozen internationally flagged merchant ships in recent years.
Persons:
Eyal Ofer, Israel, Israel Katz, Biden, ”, Iran’s
Organizations:
MSC, Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac Group, ”, Iran’s
Locations:
Israel, Tehran, Iranian, Syria, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, United States, Oman