Iran attacks 3 ships in Strait of Hormuz, seizes 2 after ceasefire extension
Iran has fired upon three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, seizing two of them.
On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the attack and revealed the seizure of two-foreign flagged ships.
“One ship, named MSC-FRANCESCA, which is said to be linked to the Zionist regime, and another EPAMINODES, were seized while attempting to secretly exit the Strait of Hormuz,” the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Iranian media also reported that the IRGC had attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become “stranded” on the nation’s coast, per the Associated Press.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade (UKMTO) Operations Centre reported two incidents of vessels being fired upon in the strait. The center said it was reported a cargo ship had been fired upon off the coast of Iran and is stopped in the water. The crew are purportedly safe and accounted for, and there is no damage to the vessel.
On Tuesday, UKMTO said it received a report of an IRGC gunboat firing upon a container ship off the coast of Oman, which caused heavy damage to the bridge, though the crew is reported to be safe.
The reported attacks follow President Donald Trump’s Tuesday announcement that the U.S. is extending the ceasefire, at the request of Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, until discussions are concluded.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so…we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” the president posted to Truth Social on Tuesday.
However, he said the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports will continue.
“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” Trump added.
A second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran set to take place in Islamabad have been postponed. The head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, Motjaba Ferdousi Pour, told AP that no delegation would be sent to Pakistan until the U.S. ends the blockade.
In subsequent Tuesday posts, Trump highlighted the financial dependency Iran has on the strait.
“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day,” he said.
“They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to ‘save face. People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.’ But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their County, their leaders included!” the commander-in-chief continued.
The U.S. also seized an Iranian-flagged ship over the weekend in the Gulf of Oman, and the Department of War announced on Tuesday that American forces boarded a stateless sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean.
“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran—anywhere they operate,” the department said.
Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the stateless sanctioned M/T Tifani without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.⁰⁰As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit… pic.twitter.com/EGwDe3dBI3
— Department of War(@DeptofWar) April 21, 2026
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