[ad_1]
THIS is the chilling moment Iran’s Revolutionary Guards sneakily scale down from a hovering helicopter to seize an Israeli-linked ship.
The daring raid from the paramilitary group is the latest tit-for-tat move in the fierce waging Middle Eastern war as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) vow there will be “consequences” for Iran.
8
8
8
Iran’s state-run IRNA announced today that a special forces unit successfully carried out the attack on the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries.
The Aries is a container ship associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime – part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group.
The group is yet to make any statement on the attack.
The ship had 25 crew members on board as the helicopter terrifyingly descended on the vessel that was near the Strait of Hormuz.
IRNA said the vessel would be taken into Iranian territorial waters.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the world to label the Guard as a terrorist organisation after the attack.
Katz described Iran as “a criminal regime that supports Hamas’ crimes” before accusing them of “conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law”.
Terrifying footage shows a military-style helicopter hovering above the giant ship.
A member of the Revolutionary Guards can then be seen jumping from a rope thrown down from the aircraft and onto some shipping containers.
It is thought that several others joined the commando afterwards.
The chilling video was shared to the Associated Press by a Middle East defence official.
A crew member on the ship can be heard saying: “Don’t come out” to his pals on board before telling his colleagues to go to the ship’s bridge.
The helicopter used is believed to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter which has been commonly used by the Guard and the feared Houthi rebels in Yemen.
They have used the aircraft to attack shipping vessels on the Red Sea.
ISRAEL VS IRAN
Israel said on Friday, around 40 rocket launches were identified crossing into Israel from Lebanon.
They announced that most were intercepted.
For decades, since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the Jewish state and the Islamic one have been at daggers drawn.
Iran’s ruling mullahs routinely chant, “Death to Israel” and deny its right to exist.
But until now they have only attacked Israel indirectly, by sending weapons and money to anti-Israeli terrorist groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip or Hezbollah in Lebanon.
8
8
8
These acted as proxies for Iran, enabling it to avoid a real war with Israel.
But since the April 1, bombing, tensions between the two rivals have reached boiling point.
Iran revealed its bone-chilling war chest days ago, including terrifying long-range missiles that can cross the Red Sea to pummel Israel directly.
The world is now holding its breath to see when, not if, Tehran will follow through on its repeated threats to launch a revenge strike.
Reports surfaced that Israel was even planning to strike nuclear targets in Iran if Khamenei did follow through on his threats.
Situation could get a whole lot worse
By Michael Clarke, Defence & Security Expert
When the Israelis attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus, they must have known there would be a reaction to it.
In a sense they were almost taunting the Iranians — testing how far they could push them on the assumption that they didn’t think the Iranians would react very strongly.
The Iranians always talk apocalyptically.
They make blood-curdling threats but usually carry them through at a much lower level.
They are murderous dabblers, a malign actor across the whole of the region.
But everything they do is always arm’s length and low risk.
They persuade their clients, like Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen or Hamas to undertake operations against the Americans, the British or the Israelis.
But it’s always somebody else doing the dirty work.
The reason that they only dabble is because they know they are internally insecure.
Revolution has never been very far away from modern Iran in the last 20 years. They always worry about taking on a real war in case it brings the regime down.
Are they prepared to do more this time?
I suspect not, but it’s likely one of their clients will hit Israeli interests across the region, like Israeli firms or embassies.
The whole region will be on high alert, including the British and Americans.
The Americans are fully behind the Israelis, who are warning: “If you push us too hard, we will attack straight into Iranian territory.”
If the Israelis did attack Iran directly, they would probably go after large parts of the infrastructure Iran needs for its nuclear weapons programme, something they have been itching to do for many years.
The Israeli message is: “If you give us the opportunity, we’ll be glad to do it.”
It is intended to scare the Iranians off and make them take a step back.
If that does not work, then things could be a lot more dangerous this time next week.
Iran’s state media also ramped up tensions by releasing a propaganda video showing several missiles being launched today.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted his country is “prepared for any scenario” as they continue to fight in Gaza.
He said: “Whoever harms us, we will harm them.
“We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively.”
IRAN’S TERRIFYING RESPONSE
The world has been made to wait for almost two weeks to see how Iran reacts to the missile strike that eliminated several top brass commanders.
Tehran’s embassy in Syrian capital Damascus was destroyed in a suspected Israeli strike on April 1.
Despite Benjamin Netanyahu and his team saying they had no involvement in the targeted attack, Iran is certain the strike came from them.
Iranian leader Ebrahim Rasi said the deadly strike on Iran’s consulate building in Syria “will not go unanswered”.
As he immediately pointed the finger of blame at Israel, labelling the hit a “cowardly crime”.
This has caused powerful countries such as France, Russia, India and the Netherlands to all take extra precautions as they anticipate a brutal firefight in the already war-torn region.
As the US warned a strike is imminent and serious.
The UK has responded to the potential escalation of war by sending the Royal Marines out to the Middle East to prepare a heroic “Dunkirk-esque” evacuation plan to rescue remaining trapped Brits.
How Iran’s attack can impact the world
Iran already sees the US and the UK as its two main enemies outside of the Middle East.
Ever since the October 7, Hamas massacre, both states have fully supported Israel in their reactionary strikes and shunned Iran and their proxies.
Iran’s closest allies include the Houthis, in Yemen have been attacking British and US ships in the red sea and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria have also been condemned for their actions.
Top US generals are in constant contact with Israel to coordinate Washington’s military responses.
As British intelligence agents regularly share information with the Israelis about potential threats.
And any further attacks could not only spell devastating civilian casualties but also batter the economic market.
An all-out war between Israel and Iran will spike oil and natural gas prices.
Other major oil producers, such as from south Iraq to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will also be at risk.
Because of the UK sanctions on Russian oil and gas exports after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Middle Eastern energy supplies have become more important than ever for the European economies
8
[ad_2]