Tehran, Oct. 28, 2025 (Lusa) - Iran is demanding payment of a fine of around €145 million from the Israeli owner of a Portuguese-flagged container ship seized in 2024 by Iranian forces, an Iranian judicial authority announced on Tuesday.
The ship, ‘MSC Aries’, a large, 366-meter long container ship built in 2020, owned by Gortal Shipping and operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company but flying the Portuguese flag, had 25 crew members on board and was seized in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, 2024 by the Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s ideological army, for allegedly being “linked to Israel”.
At the time, Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, reported that the ship was “managed by the Zodiac company, which belongs to Zionist capitalist Eyal Ofer”.
Considered the richest man in Israel, Eyal Ofer is chairman of Ofer Global, an Israeli group based in Monaco that operates in sectors such as maritime logistics, real estate, technology, energy, banking and diversified investments.
Today, Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir announced that the case had been referred to the courts, but did not specify a date.
“A fine of US$170 million [around €145 million] has been requested against its Israeli owner, who is accused of financing terrorism,” the same source said.
Following the seizure of the ship, the United States condemned “an act of piracy” and called on Iran to “ immediately release the Portuguese-flagged, British-owned ship and its crew, composed of Indians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, Russians and Estonians”.
In Israel, minister of foreign affairs Israel Katz called on the European Union to designate the Revolutionary Guard as a “terrorist organisation”.
The Iranian judicial spokesman added today that “the value of the seized ship, excluding containers, is estimated at US$170 million,” claiming that the owner is “a recognised Zionist” and “an influential figure within the Israeli government.”
The seizure of the ship took place amid rising tensions in the Middle East due to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, triggered by an attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023 and subsequent retaliation by Tel Aviv.
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