Iran has demanded $170 million from the owner of a cargo ship it seized last year in Gulf waters over alleged connections to Israel, an Iranian judiciary official said Tuesday. 

Islamic Revolutionary Guards naval forces hijacked the MSC Aries, a Portuguese-flagged vessel operated by Israeli-owned company Zodiac, close to the Strait of Hormuz in April 2024. The ship’s 25 international crew members were detained, and some were later freed.

AFP quoted judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir as saying that charges had been filed and the case was before the courts, although no trial date has been set.

“A fine of $170 million has been demanded against its owner, of Israeli origin, accused of financing terrorism,” said Jahangir. He further claimed that Israeli billionaire and shipping magnate Eyal Ofer was an “influential figure” within the Israeli government.

At the time of the seizure, then-Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz slammed the move, calling on the European Union and the rest of the free world to immediately designate the IRGC as a terror organization and impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

“The Ayatollah regime of [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei is a criminal regime that supports Hamas’ crimes and is now conducting a piracy operation in violation of international law,” he said.

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