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Tensions escalated within the Strait of Hormuz April 22 after Iran’s IRGC seized two vessels in what analysts describe as “tit-for-tat” retaliation towards the U.S. And one ship is linked to a billionaire delivery household tied to Presidents Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron.
Video aired on Iranian state TV purportedly reveals IRGC troopers seizing the container ships within the Strait, Reuters mentioned Thursday.
One vessel, the MSC Francesca, is owned by MSC Mediterranean Delivery Firm, which was based by Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte and is now managed by his two youngsters, Fox Information Digital has realized.
“Some 20 Iranians armed to the enamel stormed the ship. Sailors are beneath Iranian management, their actions on the ship are restricted however the Iranians are treating them effectively,” a relative of one of many MSC Francesca seafarers instructed Reuters.
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Troopers participate within the seizure of the container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas within the Strait of Hormuz, in accordance with footage broadcast on Iranian state TV and launched April 22, 2026. (IRIB/Handout/Reuters)
“The ship is anchored 9 nautical miles from the Iranian coast. Negotiations between MSC and Iran are ongoing, our sailors are tremendous,” Montenegro’s minister of maritime affairs, Filip Radulovic, instructed state broadcaster RTCG.
Maritime intelligence agency Windward AI pointed to IRGC “tit-for-tat” techniques given the current MSC vessel seizure.
This adopted a U.S. naval blockade imposed on April 13, with Tehran warning of retaliation after U.S. forces additionally seized an Iranian vessel.
“The IRGC attacked three ships. It additionally captured and took in two of them — the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas — whereas the Euphoria managed to get away,” Windward AI co-founder Ami Daniel instructed Fox Information Digital.
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Troopers participate within the operation seizing the container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas within the Strait of Hormuz, in accordance with Iranian state TV April 22, 2026. (IRIB/Handout/Reuters)
“It is a ‘tit-for-tat’ train by the IRGC, which, together with the Houthis, has lengthy claimed MSC is connected to Israel.
“Aponte, proprietor and chairman, has a Jewish spouse, and MSC calls in Israel; nonetheless, so do all main liners.”
Diego Aponte, Gianluigi’s son, had been making “inroads with Trump’s circle,” Bloomberg reported April 13.
He additionally helped organize a November 2025 White House assembly with Swiss enterprise leaders that led to a preliminary deal to cut back the 39% tariffs imposed on Switzerland over the summer season.
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The MSC govt chairman has been photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron. (Reuters/Stephane Mahe)
Over the past 12 months, MSC’s relationship with the White Home additionally positioned father Gianluigi Aponte as a key participant in a $19 billion take care of Li Ka-shing, as MSC and BlackRock moved to accumulate two Panama Canal ports beneath strain from Trump to position them in “pleasant” arms, in accordance with the outlet.
With a web value of at the very least $37 billion, in accordance with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, it’s Gianluigi Aponte and his spouse, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, who seem to mingle with world leaders.
The MSC govt chairman and Rafaela have been photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Panama-flagged MSC Francesca vessel docked in Lengthy Seashore, Calif., April 16, 2025. (Efrain Morales/Reuters)
Rafaela can also be reportedly associated to Alexis Kohler (his mom is alleged to be her cousin), who served as Macron’s secretary-general from Could 2017 to April 14, 2025, and was described as “Macron’s second mind.”
The Aponte household’s vessel, carrying about 40 crew members, was taken towards Iran’s port of Bandar Abbas by the Iranian navy, sources instructed Reuters Thursday.
4 crew members, together with the captain, are from Montenegro, officers mentioned, whereas Croatia’s international ministry confirmed two Croatian nationals are additionally aboard.
MSC declined to remark, Reuters confirmed.
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The IRGC Navy claimed each vessels captured “had been operating without the necessary permits.”
In keeping with Lloyd’s List, the 2008-built MSC Francesca “usually operates in service between the U.S. West Coast, Asia and the Center East Gulf.”
