Iran investigates ship detained in Gulf waters

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Monday that the container ship detained by Iran over the weekend near the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, which claimed to be "linked to Israel," is present "in Iranian territorial waters" for "necessary investigations."

Iranian authorities have not provided any information since the special naval forces of the Revolutionary Guards detained the container ship "MCS Aries" in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.

Kanaani said during a press conference, "The ship was transferred to Iranian territorial waters."

No information was provided about the fate of the 25 crew members.

Kanaani explained, "This ship was detained for violating international shipping rules and not responding appropriately to the relevant Iranian authorities," indicating that "based on the available information to me, it is certain that the detained ship belongs to the Zionist entity."

The official IRNA agency said on Saturday that the container ship MSC Aries, flying the Portuguese flag, was detained because it "belongs to the Zodiac company owned by Eyal Ofer."

The ship was detained hours before Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel.

Israel described Iran's detention of the ship as "piracy" and called on the European Union to classify the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a "terrorist organization," while Washington called on "Iran to immediately release the ship and its crew, which includes citizens from India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Russia, and Estonia."

Reuters