This image made from a video provided to The Associated Press by a Mideast defense official shows a helicopter raid targeting a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday./THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seizes container ship near Strait of Hormuz

Seizure of Israeli-affiliated container ship by helicopter-borne commandos is the latest in a series of attacks between the two countries

by · National Post

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Commandos from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled down from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks between the two countries.

The Middle East had braced for potential Iranian retaliation over a suspected Israeli strike earlier this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including a senior Guard general who once commanded its expeditionary Quds Force there.

Israel braces for unprecedented direct attack by Iran within daysIsrael is bracing for a direct and unprecedented attack by Iran on government targets as soon as Saturday, according to people familiar with western intelligence assessments, a move that has the potential to trigger an all-out regional war.Donato Paolo Mancini, Jennifer Jacobs and Alex Wickham, 12 Apr 2024Canada advises against all travel to Israel, West Bank due to heightened riskOTTAWA — Canadians are being told to avoid all travel to Israel and the West Bank because of the “unpredictable security situation” in the region. Global Affairs Canada says there is a heightened risk of attacks on Israeli territory, while tensions and violence are high in the West Bank.13 Apr 2024