In a video published on the evening of Wednesday, April 22, Iran staged the interception of two foreign ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The images, authenticated by the Radio France Verification Agency, show the MSC-Francesca, flying the Panamanian flag, and the Epaminondas, sailing under the Liberian flag, intercepted on Wednesday morning by Iran. The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the regime, announced on Wednesday that these “two ships in violation were seized by naval forces.”
The video of their interception was published on Wednesday evening on a Telegram channel of the Revolutionary Guards, and then relayed by Iranian media. Since then, it has been widely circulated on social networks.
The video shows a speedboat with an Iranian flag approaching the two ships and boarding them. The speedboat is identical to those used by the Iranian navy and an Iranian flag is visible on it. As for the two cargo ships, their names are clearly visible on several shots and they correspond to the photos available on maritime traffic websites.
Furthermore, maps from these real-time maritime traffic specialized sites show these two ships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to GPS data, the Epaminondas turned around on Wednesday afternoon and moved closer to the port of Bandar Abbas, with the Revolutionary Guards wanting to bring the ships closer to Iranian shores. The GPS beacon of the MSC-Francesca, on the other hand, has been disabled since Wednesday morning and the ship is still located near Sirik.
In terms of presentation, the video resembles a movie trailer, with the use of typical action movie music. The editing strings together short sequences to create an impression of dramatic tension: a wide shot of the speedboat, then a zoom on the soldiers climbing the ladder to board the ships and scenes where soldiers progress inside the ships, armed, and then enter the command bridge.
Iran clearly intended to make this interception a communication operation. Several cameras and drones were deployed to film the sequence from all angles.
