UK warns of apparent Iranian attempts to force ships into its waters

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A warning has gone out to seafarers in the Persian Gulf over what appear to be attempts by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to compel ships to enter Iranian waters.

A notice from the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says that there have been “several incidents involving VHF radio challenges to vessels.”

“It is assessed that these are most likely part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ large-scale exercise, Great Prophet XVIII,” UKMTO says.

Iran has been engaged in an extraordinary two-month-long military exercise across the country after being twice hit by Israel in retaliation for two separate ballistic missile attacks launched by Tehran

While Iran has a history of harassing and impounding vessels, it hasn’t directly launched many such attacks recently. Instead, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been attacking ships since November 2023.

Iranian media has reported a likely Guard exercise in the Persian Gulf coming this weekend as well.