This screen grab taken from undated video footage released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and made available via Iran's state broadcaster (IRIB) on Thursday, shows IRGC naval forces allegedly boarding a ship attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces targeted three container ships on Wednesday, seizing two, global security monitors and the country's Revolutionary Guards said, the latest incidents to threaten a crucial trade route in the Middle East war. RIB TV / AFP-Yonhap
DUBAI/ISLAMABAD — Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday with video of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship, after the collapse of peace talks that Washington had hoped would open the world's most important shipping corridor.
Iranian state television broadcast footage overnight of masked troops pulling up in a grey speedboat alongside the MSC Francesca, climbing a rope ladder to a shell door in the hull and jumping through brandishing rifles. The footage, presented with an action-movie-style soundtrack and no commentary, also included views of another ship, the Epaminondas. Iran said it had captured both on Wednesday, accusing them of trying to cross the strait without permits.
Washington, which has been confronting Iranian ships in international waters to enforce a blockade of its own, said it had boarded another tanker, the Majestic, in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, an apparent reference to a supertanker last reported off the coast of Sri Lanka carrying 2 million barrels of crude. Iran, which has effectively blocked the strait to ships apart from its own since the United States and Israel launched the war in February, has been left in apparent control of the waterway since last-ditch peace talks were called off on Tuesday, hours before a two-week ceasefire expired.
Amid diplomatic efforts to restart the failed talks, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Thursday Iran could consider attending a meeting in Pakistan, but only if the U.S. blockade is lifted and seized Iranian ships are released.
In an early morning social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump said it was Washington that was in "total control" of the strait, which he described as "'Sealed up Tight,' until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!!". The U.S. blockade has not however halted Iran's own use of the strait, according to data analytics firm Vortexa, which said about 10.7 million barrels of Iranian crude exports had crossed it and left the area blockaded by the U.S. Navy between April 13 and 21.
The global economy is facing ever more tangible strains from the energy shock as factories grapple with soaring production costs and activity weakens even in services sectors, major surveys showed on Thursday.
Trump also said he had ordered the Navy to "shoot and kill" Iranian boats laying mines in the strait, and step up demining activity, though he did not mention other means Iran has used to block shipping such as speedboats, missiles and drones.
Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said the merchant vessels Iran had seized had "faced the law", while Iranian speedboats and marine drones were sheltering in sea caves off an island keeping the U.S. Navy from approaching.
The vice speaker of Iran's parliament, Hamidreza Hajibabaei, said the first revenue from a toll Iran was now collecting from ships using the strait had been transferred to the central bank. He gave no further details about who had paid it or how much.
Source: Korea Times News
