Iran has released a video purportedly showing armed, masked commandos seizing two cargo vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The propaganda clip was pumped out by state media Wednesday after the regime boasted it had seized the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Liberia-flagged Epaminondas vessels, just hours after the cease-fire was extended.
In the video, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers are seen speeding toward a container ship that had MSC emblazoned on the side before scaling a ladder and boarding the vessel.
The commandos are wearing masks and carrying guns on their backs.
Then, soldiers were filmed approaching the Epaminondas before they entered a supposed engine room.
The armed soldiers then climbed up the stairs to the ship’s top decks.
The IRGC has accused the two vessels of operating without the required permit and tampering with their navigation systems.
Personnel on the Epaminondas reported damage to its bridge after Iranian soldiers opened fire and hurled grenades from a gunboat, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations.
Technomar Shipping Inc officials, the Greek-based operator of the container ship, said the vessel had been boarded by Iranian soldiers.
The MSC Francesca also came under fire – around six miles off the coast of Iran – and sources at the intelligence firm Vanguard said it was “instructed to drop anchor,” BBC reported.
Panama has condemned Iran for seizing the vessel – branding the act “illegal.”
They said Tehran’s act posed a “serious threat to maritime security,” constituting an “unnecessary escalation” at a time when the West is trying to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open.
However, Washington has said the cease-fire wasn’t violated as a result of Iran’s acts.
“These were not US ships. These were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.
“And for the American media who is sort of blowing this out of proportion to discredit the president’s facts — that he has completely obliterated Iran’s conventional Navy — these two ships were taken by speedy gunboats.
“Iran has gone from having the most lethal Navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates.”
The vessels were seized — three days after US Marines took command of the Iranian-flagged vessel Touska that tried to break the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
Meanwhile, US forces reportedly intercepted at least three Iranian oil tankers, re-directing them away from their positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
The US-Iran cease-fire was extended Tuesday, and President Trump told The Post there could be a breakthrough regarding a second round of peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Talks could be held as soon as Friday, but Iran hasn’t committed to a second round of negotiations.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the US’s blockade of the Strait is one of the “main obstacles to genuine negotiations.”
President Trump has called on Tehran to send over a “unified” plan before negotiations can proceed.
With Post wires
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