TEHRAN – Special naval forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) captured an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, days after Tehran said it would retaliate for an Israeli strike on its Syria consulate.
The ship was impounded by Sepah Navy Special Force (SNSF) commandos who rappelled from a helicopter onto the deck of MSC Aries and directed it to Iranian waters. 
The Portuguese-flagged ship, operated by Zodiac Maritime, is owned by Israeli real estate, energy, technology and shipping magnate Eyal Ofer. Zodiac Maritime is part of the Israeli billionaire’s Zodiac Group.
The MSC Aries had been last located off Dubai heading toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The ship had turned off its tracking data, which has been common for Israeli-affiliated ships moving through the region.
The incident comes amid rising regional tensions since the start of Israel’s invasion of Gaza in October, with the Zionist regime or its ally the United States clashing repeatedly with resistance forces in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Iran has pledged to retaliate for Israeli airstrikes on its consulate in Syria’s capital Damascus on April 1 that martyred seven IRGC military advisors including two senior commanders.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said at a prayer ceremony celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday that the “evil Zionist regime must be punished, and it will be punished.” Since the building destroyed was a consular building, he said, it amounted to an attack on Iranian soil.
On Tuesday the naval head of the IRGC, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, said Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, if deemed necessary.
He said Iran viewed as a threat Israel’s presence in the UAE, with which the Zionist regime established diplomatic relations in 2020 as part of the “Abraham Accords” mediated by the United States.
A top military adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Saturday Israel is in complete panic as it awaits Iran’s response to its aggression in Damascus. 
Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi made the remarks while speaking at a memorial service for senior IRGC member Brigadier General Muhammad Reza Zahedi who was martyred in the Israeli airstrike.
“It has been a week that the Zionists are in complete panic and are on alert,” Rahim Safavi said.

Israel, he said, has suspended the ground invasion of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza because it does not know how, where and when Iran will give its retaliatory response.
“This psychological, media and political war is more terrifying for them than the war itself, because they are waiting for an attack every night and many of them have fled and gone to shelters.” 
Rahim Safavi said differences have been intensified among Israeli political and military officials “because all know that a consulate is a territory of a country.”
The hands of the U.S. and Israel will be cut off from the West Asian region, he said, emphasizing that they will suffer a defeat in Palestine soon.
The senior general noted that the resistance front and Palestinian people will achieve a definite victory in the face of Israel.