UPDATE 4-13-24 5:10 ET
...Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement broadcast on state television that it had launched missiles as well as drones toward Israel from Iran. Israel did not immediately confirm that missiles had been launched.
“The aerospace unit of the Revolutionary Guards has attacked targets in Israel with dozens of drones and missiles in reaction to the Zionist regime’s crimes,” the Iranian statement said.
Iran’s action on Saturday came after a week of diplomacy and conflicting reports about how far Tehran would go in response to the Damascus attack, and whether it would risk starting an outright war with Israel.
The White House confirmed that Iran had launched a strike toward Israel and vowed to help Israel defend itself. President Biden was cutting short a weekend at his vacation home in Delaware to return to the White House and huddle with his national security team.
This is still developing; the Times report suggests the attack will be unfolding over the next few hours. Whether or not Iran is engaging in open war with Israel remains to be seen, but this is obviously not a good development. It’s further complicated by the fact that drone and missile attacks launched from Iran have to travel over several intervening countries to reach Israel, potentially broadening the conflict.
Stay tuned.
Earlier Today
Reuters reports
DUBAI, April 13 (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, days after Tehran said it could close the crucial shipping route and warned it would retaliate for an Israeli strike on its Syria consulate.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that a Guards helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters the Portuguese flagged MSC Aries, saying it was linked to Israel.
MSC, which operates the Aries, confirmed Iran had seized the ship and said it was working "with the relevant authorities" for its safe return and the wellbeing of its 25 crew.
MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac said in a statement, adding that MSC is responsible for all the vessel's activities. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.
emphasis added
This story is still unfolding. How important is the strait? According to Wikipedia:
This map provides a larger view of the region. The strait is in the upper right quadrant.
The Strait of Hormuz (/hɔːrˈmuːz/ Persian: تنگهٔ هُرمُز Tangeh-ye Hormoz listenⓘ, Arabic: مَضيق هُرمُز Maḍīq Hurmuz) is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategically important choke points.[1] On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast lies the Musandam peninsula, shared by the United Arab Emirates and the Musandam Governorate, an exclave of Oman. The strait is about 90 nautical miles (167 km) long, with a width varying from about 52 nmi (96 km) to 21 nmi (39 km).[2][3]
A third of the world's liquefied natural gas and almost 25% of total global oil consumptionpasses through the strait, making it a highly important strategic location for international trade.[3][4] It has been so for centuries; its vast hinterlands were rich in luxury trade goods with no easy access to lucrative trading ports. Babur's memoirs recount how almonds had to be carried from the distant Ferghana region to Hormuz to reach markets.[5]
emphasis added
This is a calculated move on Iran’s part. Rather than attacking Israel directly, they’ve chosen a broader strategy. It’s going to cause ripples all through the global economy, including a spike in oil prices.
Seizing a ship rather than engaging in a military operation to blow things up and/or kill people sends a strong message. Iran doesn’t need to have overwhelming military force, nuclear weapons, or direct terror attacks on Israel as long as it can shut down a vital shipping route. Where it goes from here is the $64,000 question.
There is a lot of scrambling going on around the world as everyone tries to decide how to respond. A lot of contingency plans are getting reviewed right now. Military force is not a great option given how Iran borders all along the northern coast of the Strait and the Gulf.
Whether or not Iran chooses to limit how far this goes remains to be seen, but this has long been a nightmare scenario. Netanyahu’s decision to bomb an Iranian embassy has resulted in massive blowback. We expected Iran to react; now we know how.
Here’s a sampling of other reports on this developing situation. Expect more.
Al Jazeera report.
BBC report.
NBC News report.
Washington Post report.
