Iran has been accused of seizing a commercial ship with links to Israel early on Saturday morning as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
The MSC Aries was boarded by Iranian special forces about 50 miles (80km) off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a statement from MSC said.
Footage obtained by Reuters news agency appeared to show troops rappelling onto the vessel from a helicopter.
The Portuguese-flagged ship is linked to Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.
The incident comes amid heightened expectation of an Iranian attack on Israel after an airstrike destroyed Iran’s consulate in Damascus at the start of April. Israel said on Saturday Iran would bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further.
The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations agency confirmed the boarding in a statement. It made no mention of Iranian involvement, instead stating that the ship had been seized by “regional authorities” off the coast of Fujairah in the UAE.
However, Iranian media has been quick to trumpet the involvement of the country’s special forces in the attack.
