{"id":129043,"date":"2026-04-23T17:45:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T21:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/iran-escalates-hormuz-tit-for-tat-seizes-ship-tied-to-billionaire-close-to-trump-macron-129043"},"modified":"2026-04-23T17:45:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T21:45:35","slug":"iran-escalates-hormuz-tit-for-tat-seizes-ship-tied-to-billionaire-close-to-trump-macron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/iran-escalates-hormuz-tit-for-tat-seizes-ship-tied-to-billionaire-close-to-trump-macron-129043","title":{"rendered":"Iran escalates Hormuz ‘tit-for-tat,’ seizes ship tied to billionaire close to Trump, Macron"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22 after Iran\u2019s IRGC seized two vessels in what analysts describe as “tit-for-tat” retaliation against the U.S., with one ship linked to a billionaire shipping family tied to Presidents Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Video aired on Iran<\/a> state TV purportedly shows IRGC soldiers seizing the container ships in the Strait, Reuters said Thursday.<\/p>\n

One vessel, the MSC Francesca, is owned by MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, founded by Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte and now controlled by his two children, Fox News Digital has learned.<\/p>\n

“Some 20 Iranians armed to the teeth stormed the ship. Sailors are under Iranian control, their movements on the ship are limited, but the Iranians are treating them well,” a relative of one of the MSC Francesca seafarers told Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TRUMP’S SPECIAL ENVOY WITKOFF AND KUSHNER VISIT US AIRCRAFT CARRIER AMID IRAN TENSIONS, TALKS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“The ship is anchored nine nautical miles from the Iranian coast. Negotiations between MSC and Iran are ongoing, our sailors are fine,” Montenegro’s minister of maritime affairs, Filip Radulovic, told state broadcaster RTCG.<\/p>\n

Maritime intelligence firm Windward AI<\/a> pointed to IRGC “tit-for-tat” tactics given the recent MSC vessel seizure.<\/p>\n

This followed a U.S. naval blockade imposed on April 13<\/a>, with Tehran warning of retaliation after U.S. forces also seized an Iranian vessel.<\/p>\n

“The IRGC attacked three ships<\/a>. It also captured and took in two of them\u2014the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas\u2014while the Euphoria managed to get away,” Windward AI co-founder Ami Daniel <\/a>told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

IRAN FIRES LIVE MISSILES INTO STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS TRUMP ENVOYS ARRIVE FOR NUCLEAR TALKS<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“This is a \u2018tit-for-tat\u2019 exercise by the IRGC, which, along with the Houthis, has long claimed MSC is connected to Israel.<\/a><\/p>\n

“Aponte, owner and chairman, has a Jewish wife, and MSC calls in Israel; however, so do all major liners,” he added.<\/p>\n

Diego Aponte, Gianluigi\u2019s son, had been making “inroads with Trump\u2019s circle,” Bloomberg<\/a> reported April 13.<\/p>\n

He also helped arrange a November 2025 White House<\/a> meeting with Swiss business leaders that led to a preliminary deal to reduce the 39% tariffs imposed on Switzerland over the summer.<\/p>\n

BLOCKADE 101: AMERICAN SEA POWER ON DISPLAY AS TRUMP CORNERS IRAN AND WARNS OFF CHINA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Over the last year, MSC\u2019s relationship with the White House also positioned father Gianluigi Aponte as a key player in a $19 billion deal with Li Ka-shing, as MSC and BlackRock moved to acquire two Panama Canal ports<\/a> under pressure from Trump to place them in “friendly” hands, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n

With a net worth of at least $37 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, it is Gianluigi Aponte and his wife, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, who appear to mingle with world leaders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The MSC executive chairman and Rafaela have been photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron.<\/p>\n

GULF SHIPPING OPERATIONS GRIND TO HALT NEAR IRAN, US QUIETLY PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE STRIKE: ‘HEIGHTENED RISK’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Rafaela is also reportedly related to Alexis Kohler (his mother is said to be her cousin), who served as Macron\u2019s secretary-general from May 2017 to April 14, 2025, and was described as “Macron\u2019s second brain.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Aponte family\u2019s vessel, carrying about 40 crew members<\/a>, was taken toward Iran\u2019s port of Bandar Abbas by the Iranian navy, sources told Reuters Thursday.<\/p>\n

Four crew members, including the captain, are from Montenegro, officials said, while Croatia\u2019s foreign ministry confirmed two Croatian nationals are also aboard; MSC declined to comment, Reuters confirmed.<\/p>\n

The IRGC Navy claimed that both vessels captured “were operating without the necessary permits<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

According to Lloyd\u2019s List,<\/a> the 2008-built MSC Francesca “normally operates in service between the U.S. West Coast, Asia and the Middle East Gulf.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/iran-escalates-hormuz-tit-for-tat-seizes-ship-tied-billionaire-close-trump-macron <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22 after Iran\u2019s IRGC seized two vessels in what analysts describe as “tit-for-tat” retaliation against the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-129043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIran escalates Hormuz 'tit-for-tat,' seizes ship tied to billionaire close to Trump, Macron - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/iran-escalates-hormuz-tit-for-tat-seizes-ship-tied-to-billionaire-close-to-trump-macron-129043\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iran escalates Hormuz 'tit-for-tat,' seizes ship tied to billionaire close to Trump, Macron - 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