WASHINGTON, April 13. /TASS/. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in their phone conversation that Israel could rely on full support from the United States to defend itself against Iranian attacks, Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder said.

"Secretary Austin made clear that Israel could count on full US support to defend Israel against any attacks by Iran and its regional proxies," the statement said.

Ryder added that the ministers discussed urgent regional threats. According to him, Austin "reiterated unwavering US support for Israel’s defense."

On Saturday, Iran’s news agency IRNA reported that the Navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps seized the commercial vessel MSC Aries in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Associated Press, the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries container ship is associated with the London-based Zodiac Maritime, a subsidiary of the Zodiac Group shipping business owned by Israeli magnate Eyal Ofer.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz slammed the Iranian seizure of a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz as "a pirate operation" as he called on the European Union to declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization.