The White House has called on Iran to immediately release a British-owned ship it seized near the Strait of Hormuz, reported AFP.

“We call on Iran to release the vessel and its international crew immediately,” said National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson. “Seizing a civilian vessel without provocation is a blatant violation of international law, and an act of piracy by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.”

Amid rising tension in the Middle East, an Air India spokesperson said: “We are closely monitoring the developing situation in the Middle East. Presently, our aircraft will operate on alternate flight paths to and from India- according to top priority to the safety of our passengers and crew.” 

The Italian-Swiss shipping group MSC said in a statement that there were 25 crew members on board the container ship. 

It said MSC Aries has been “boarded by Iranian authorities via helicopter as she passed the Strait of Hormuz at approximately 0243 UTC this morning”. MSC said it is “working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure their wellbeing, and safe return of the vessel”. More details.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani has left Baghdad for the United States, his office said today.  He will meet US President Joe Biden as regional tensions flare.

The seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the Gulf has 17 Indians on board and India is already in touch with the Iranian authorities to ensure security, welfare and the early release of the Indians, official sources said on Wednesday, as reported by news agencies. More here.

Israel has responded to Iran’s seizure of the vessel by saying that it was conducting piracy and should be sanctioned for it, reports Reuters.

“The Ayatollah regime of Khamenei is a criminal regime that supports Hamas’ crimes and is now conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said. 

He adds: “I call on the European Union and the free world to immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization and to sanction Iran now.”

An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claims that Israel is panicking over a possible retaliatory response from Iran after a strike in Syria which killed members of its Revolutionary Guards, reports AFP.

“It has been a week that the Zionists are in complete panic and are on alert,” Yahya Rahim Safavi says. “They don’t know what Iran wants to do, so they and their supporters are terrified.” 

Vessel tracking websites, vesselfinder.com and marinetraffic.com, say MSC Aries is a Portuguese-flagged container ship. Both sites give its last reported position as in the Gulf.

Iran will bear consequences if it escalates violence in the region, an Israeli military spokesperson said on Saturday, according to Reuters.

“Iran will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement. “Israel is on high alert. We have increased our readiness to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression. We are also prepared to respond.”

Iran’s IRNA reports that its Guards have seized vessel ‘related’ to Israel in Gulf.

IRNA adds that the seized MSC Aries vessel is being transferred to Iran’s territorial waters

Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant says that Israel and the United States stand “shoulder to shoulder”, despite differences over the conduct of the Gaza war, reports Reuters.

 “Our enemies think that they can pull apart Israel and the United States, but the opposite is true — they are bringing us together and strengthening our ties,” Gallant adds.

Australia’s Qantas Airways says that it has temporarily rerouted flights between Perth and London amid tensions in the Middle East.

“We’re temporarily adjusting the flight paths for our flights between Perth and London due to the situation in parts of the Middle East,” Reuters quoted a Qantas spokesperson as saying. “We’ll reach out to customers directly if there’s any change to their booking.”

US President Joe Biden says that Iran will attack Israel sooner, rather than later. In an ominous warning, he told Tehran not to attack the country as the US was devoted to its defense. He also assured Israel of help from the US.

The Associated Press is reporting about a video showing commandos raiding a ship near the Strait of Hormuz by helicopter. Defence officials in the Mideast have blamed Iran for the attack amid wider tensions between Tehran and the West.

The intelligence assessment is that the attack on Israel hasn’t been approved by Tehran’s highest-ranking officials yet, Bloomberg reports, citing sources.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: The British military issued a warning about the possible boarding of a vessel near the vital Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations provided limited information about the incident in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait. This event comes amidst increased tensions between Iran and the West, exacerbated by a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian Consulate in Syria.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: German airline Lufthansa said Friday its planes would no longer use Iranian airspace as it extended a suspension on flights to and from Tehran amid soaring Middle East tensions.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Syrian state media reported on Saturday that an explosive device exploded in a car in a posh Damascus neighbourhood, citing a police source. The responsible party for the blast or its intended target remains unclear.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Argentina’s highest criminal court has attributed responsibility to Iran for the deadly 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, labelling it a “crime against humanity.” This ruling, outlined in court documents released Thursday, opens avenues for victims to pursue justice.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Hezbollah launched multiple Katyusha rockets at Israeli artillery positions on Friday in retaliation for Israeli strikes in the south.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Amid escalating concerns of a potential attack on Israel by Iran, the United States announced on Friday that it would deploy reinforcements to the Middle East. 

“We are moving additional assets to the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts and increase force protection for US forces,” said a US defence official in Washington, a key ally of Israel.

Israel-Iran News Live: Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, engaged in a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Friday, urging Tehran to exercise restraint amid escalating tensions with Israel.

“We cannot risk escalation at such an extremely volatile stage. All regional actors must show responsibility,” Tajani said.

Israel-Iran News Live: Gold initially reached a new peak but later retreated as tensions in the Middle East added to the demand for safe-haven assets. The price of gold surged past $2,400 an ounce on Friday, marking a significant increase of up to 2.5 per cent, Bloomberg reported. However, it later dipped by as much as 0.6 per cent, retracting from its earlier gains.

Israel-Iran News Live: Israel prepares for potential attack amid rising tensions with Iran following the killing of a senior officer in Iran’s embassy in Damascus. Several countries, including India, France, Poland, and Russia, advise against travel to the region, which is already tense due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The White House acknowledges the threat from Iran as real and viable, while the Israeli military urges civilians to stay vigilant without issuing new instructions.

Israel-Iran News Live: Equity markets suffered losses at the close of a volatile week, driven by reports of Israel preparing for potential attacks from Iran or its proxies using drones and missiles on government installations in the coming days.