Chaotic Situation: US Attacks and Seizes Iranian Ship – Tehran Prepares Retaliation
The situation in the Gulf region has become even more chaotic following direct action by the US military against an Iranian-flagged vessel attempting to breach the naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman area.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday (19/4/2026) that a US Navy destroyer had fired upon and subsequently seized an Iranian cargo ship after the vessel ignored warnings to stop.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that the ship named Touska disregarded US military instructions. He said the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance “stopped them right there by punching holes in the engine room.”
“US Marines have now secured the vessel,” Trump wrote, adding “and are checking what’s inside it!”
This incident took place amid already highly tense conditions in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil and gas distribution, which has effectively been closed since the start of the war between the US-Israel alliance and Iran about seven weeks ago.
Iran had briefly reopened the strait on Friday in response to a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, just one day later, Tehran closed it again after the United States maintained its blockade on ships heading to and from Iranian ports.
The US Central Command explained that the Touska was sailing towards Iran’s Bandar Abbas port at the time. In a statement on platform X, CENTCOM said the US destroyer fired several rounds from its five-inch calibre gun to disable the ship’s propulsion system.
The action was taken after the US military had previously ordered the crew to “clear the engine room”, according to the official statement, which was accompanied by a short video showing gunfire directed at the ship in the distance.
CENTCOM also revealed that since the blockade was imposed, US forces have ordered 25 commercial ships to turn back or return to Iranian ports.
Trump added that the Touska was under sanctions from the US Department of the Treasury “due to a history of previous illegal activities.” The vessel is indeed listed on the sanctions roster of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as an Iranian-flagged container ship.
The latest tracking data from the Marine Traffic website showed that about six hours before Trump’s announcement, the Touska was approximately 45 kilometres from Iran’s southern coast, near the city of Chabahar.
Meanwhile, another ship monitoring site, Tanker Tracker, reported that the Touska had previously sailed from Malaysia.
Iran’s supreme joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, accused the US of violating the ceasefire and vowed that Iran would retaliate.
State media quoted a spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya as saying on Monday morning (20/4/2026) that the ship was en route from China to Iran.
“We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond promptly and retaliate against this armed hijacking by the US military.”