Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Persian Gulf. FILE IMAGE: IRNA
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on April 25 that its naval forces had seized the Liberian-flagged container ship Epaminondas over suspected cooperation with the United States military.
In a statement, the IRGC Navy said that its intelligence monitoring over the past six months showed the ship had made multiple trips to U.S. ports and ignored warnings before being seized.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and Vanguard Tech reported that the Greek-owned Epaminondas was attacked by IRGC gunboats three days earlier. It was reported by Iranian media soon after that the ship was seized by the IRGC Navy.
At the time, the Greek Ministry of Shipping denied that the Greek-owned ship Epaminondas had been seized, but confirmed that the container ship sustained “extensive damage” after being attacked near the Strait of Hormuz.
Two other ships were attacked by the Iranian on the same day, April 22, the Euphoria and the MSC Francesca, both flying the flag of Panama. The MSC Francesca was reportedly seized by the IRGC Navy along with the Epaminondas. Marine Traffic data showed both vessels largely stationary a few miles west of the Iranian port city of Sirik.
Right after these incidents, Reuters revealed that the U.S. military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers — Deep Sea, Sevin, and Dorena — in Asian waters and is redirecting them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
A four tanker, Guyana-flagged Majestic X, was later seized by the U.S. in the Indian Ocean. Marine Traffic data showed the tanker in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It had been bound for the port of Zhoushan in China.
U.S. President Donald Trump on April 21 extended a two-week ceasefire with Iran following a request from Pakistan, saying it would remain in place until Tehran presents what he described as a “unified proposal.” Trump, however, kept the blockade on the ports of the Islamic Republic.
The recent ship seizures by the U.S. and Iran appears to be some sort of negotiation by fire. It shows that differences between the two remain large.
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