IRGC seizes two container ships near Hormuz

Shafaq News- Tehran

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized two container ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing three sources.

The IRGC directed the ships toward the port of Bandar Abbas, the sources said, clarifying that the ships are operated by MSC, the world’s largest container shipping group.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported instructing thirty-one Iranian ships carrying oil to alter their routes or return to port. Earlier today, US President Donald Trump said the United States has full control over the Strait of Hormuz, adding that no ship can enter or leave the Strait “without the approval of the United States Navy.”

Iran has begun collecting fees from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Ali Reza Salimi, a member of the presidium of Iran’s Parliament. Meanwhile, Iran’s Central Bank also announced that it has received the transit payments, clarifying that it deposited them as cash rather than in cryptocurrency.