Middle East War: Iran stages the apprehension of two foreign ships in the Strait of Hormuz in a video

In a video published on the evening of Wednesday, April 22, Iran stages 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 flag of Liberia, intercepted by Iran on Wednesday morning. 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 a Telegram channel of the Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday evening, and then relayed by Iranian media. Since then, it has been widely circulated on social networks.

It shows a patrol boat with an Iranian flag approaching the two ships and then boarding them. The patrol boat is identical to those used by the Iranian navy and an Iranian flag can be seen flying on it. As for the two cargo ships, their names are clearly visible on several shots and they match the photos available on maritime traffic websites.

Furthermore, maps from specialized real-time maritime traffic sites show these two ships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to GPS data, the Epaminondas turned around on Wednesday afternoon and headed towards the port of Bandar Abbas, with the Revolutionary Guards stating their intention to bring the ships closer to Iranian shores. The GPS beacon of the MSC-Francesca, on the other hand, has been deactivated 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 a sense of dramatic tension: a wide shot of the patrol boat, then a zoom on the soldiers climbing up the ladder to board the ships, followed by scenes of the soldiers progressing through the ships, armed, and then entering the command bridge.

Iran evidently planned to make this interception a communication operation. Several cameras and drones were deployed to film the sequence from all angles.