President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the U.S. forcibly seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska after it attempted to circumvent a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz. Trump stated that the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance warned the 900-foot vessel in the Gulf of Oman, but it failed to comply. U.S. Marines gained custody of the Touska after the Navy "blew a hole in the engineroom" to stop it. This incident marks the first such interception since the blockade of Iranian ports began last week. U.S. Central Command confirmed the seizure, noting warnings were issued over a six-hour period.
Trump further accused Iran of violating the fragile ceasefire agreement by allegedly firing at ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a "total violation." This accusation came shortly after Trump's announcement that U.S. negotiators were heading to Pakistan for talks aimed at extending the ceasefire, which was set to expire by Wednesday. However, Iranian officials disputed the commencement of new talks, with Iran's state-run IRNA news agency denying reports of a second round of negotiations in Islamabad, citing "no clear prospect" due to U.S. demands and the ongoing naval blockade.
Iran, in turn, has accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire with its blockade and labeled the ship's seizure an "act of aggression" and "maritime piracy." Iranian officials maintained that the Strait of Hormuz could not be passed by others if Iran could not. They also announced the reimposition of an effective closure of the strait on Saturday, citing the continued U.S. naval blockade, just one day after declaring the waterway "completely open" under the ceasefire. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh called the U.S. blockade a risk to the "whole ceasefire package" and reiterated that Iran would not hand over its 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium.
