The White House called on Iran to “immediately” release the cargo ship it seized near the Strait of Hormuz today and condemned this “act of piracy.”
“We call on Iran to immediately release this ship and its crew of Indians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, Russians and Estonians,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “The unprovoked seizure of a merchant ship constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and an act of piracy.”
The White House announced that US President Joe Biden will rush back to Washington on Saturday afternoon, interrupting his weekend in Delaware, to consult with his National Security Council team on events in the Middle East, following the seizure by the Revolutionary Guards of the cargo ship, which, according to Tehran, is “connected” to Israel.
Read also – Israeli strike on Iranian consulate in Damascus – Senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards dead (Photos)
Footage shows the moment an “Israeli”-linked ship, MSC Aries, has been captured near the strait of Hormuz by Iranian special forces pic.twitter.com/MaQ2tnd6Qu
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) April 13, 2024
“The president is returning to the White House this afternoon to confer with his National Security Council team on events in the Middle East,” the White House said in a press release without elaborating.
#BREAKING: Despite the fact crew of Portuguese-flagged MSC ARIES ship requested help from the Naval ships involved in Mission #NOTSoH (European Maritime Awareness in The Strait of #Hormuz), No one helped them. Naval Forces of #US & #France decided to allow #IRGC capture it today! pic.twitter.com/RQNHRRhLJ1
— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) April 13, 2024
Iran has threatened to retaliate over airstrikes Israel allegedly carried out on its consulate in Damascus on April 1 that killed seven Revolutionary Guard officers, including two senior commanders.
Israel: Armed forces on high alert – School trips and events cancelled
Israel is “closely monitoring a planned attack” against it by Iran and Tehran’s allies in the region, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallad said, without giving details of the threat.
In his statement, Gallad states that Israelis should follow orders that may be issued by the Israeli army’s Homefront Command, which detects incoming missiles or air threats against the country to alert the population and to rush to the shelters.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari announced the cancellation of all school trips and events for the next few days and said the armed forces were on high alert.
Announcing the measures on television, Haggari said dozens of fighter jets were in the air as part of a state of alert.
Israel’s harsh response
Tehran is committing hostage-taking and must be sanctioned for it, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said today, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized an Israeli-bound cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz.
“Ayatollah Khamenei’s regime is a criminal regime that supports the crimes of Hamas and is now conducting a piracy operation in violation of international law,” Katz said. “I call on the European Union and the free world to immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization and impose sanctions on Iran now.”
Iran will “suffer the consequences of its choice to further aggravate the situation”, Israel’s military warned today as the country is on high alert in the face of threats of retaliation from Tehran, an ally of Palestinian Hamas.
“We have increased our readiness to protect Israel from a new Iranian attack. We are also ready to respond,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Haggari added in a statement released after Iran announced it had seized a ship “linked” to Israel in the Gulf.
#Drums #war #Israels #armed #forces #high #alert #Biden #called #Iran #release #cargo #ship #immediately #Video
