Chilling moment Iran’s Revolutionary Guards scale down helicopter & seize Israeli-linked ship as IDF vows ‘consequences’
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.
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.
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 defense 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.
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.
It comes as the Royal Marines are said to be preparing a heroic “Dunkirk-esque” evacuation plan to rescue remaining Brits trapped in Iran’s terrifying war path.