US intercepts and seizes Iranian-flagged cargo ship, Trump says

Tehran vows to respond to “armed piracy"

The US president took to his Truth Social to claim that the Touska was seized by the US Navy after failing to respond to a warning to stop.

It came after the White House confirmed that US Vice President JD Vance would head a new delegation to Pakistan for a second round of negotiations to end the war with Iran.

Tehran has yet to confirm whether it will attend, with Iranian state media reporting that officials will not take part while the US blockade remains in place.

"Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them," Trump wrote.

He went on to say that the US had given the vessel a warning to stop, which was ignored, "so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room."

"The TOUSKA is under US Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what's on board!"

Footage later released by US Central Command appeared to show a naval vessel intercepting a cargo ship, with a gun seen firing in its direction.

According to a statement carried on state media outlets, a spokesperson for Iran's top military headquarters, Khatam al-Anbiya, said the US in "violation of the ceasefire opened fire on one of Iran's commercial vessels in the waters of the Sea of Oman, disabled its navigation system, and boarded it" by "deploying" marines.

"Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to and retaliate for this act of armed piracy by the US Navy," reads the statement.

On Friday (April 17), Trump said that the naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a deal was agreed by the two countries.