U.S. Navy Seizes Iranian Cargo Ship Touska in Gulf of Oman
USS Spruance disables Iranian cargo ship Touska, escalating U.S.-Iran tensions in Gulf of Oman blockade.
A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman before Marines boarded and seized the vessel, President Donald Trump said Sunday.
Trump stated that the USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian ship, the Touska, and "gave them fair warning to stop."
"The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom," Trump said in a social media post.
"Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel," the president added.
He further noted that the Touska is under U.S. Treasury sanctions due to its "prior history of illegal activity."
Later Sunday, U.S. Central Command released a video showing a Spruance crew member warning the Touska in a radio transmission, stating, "We’re prepared to subject you to disabling fire."
According to details provided by Central Command, the Spruance fired several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK gun into the Touska’s engine room after warning the ship’s crew to evacuate. Central Command said the Touska’s crew "failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period."
The U.S. has been operating a naval blockade on vessels entering and exiting Iranian ports since last week.
Sunday’s seizure marks an escalation of the blockade, following reports that Iran fired upon commercial vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the day. The strait is a critical waterway located between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
U.S. envoys led by Vice President JD Vance were expected to travel to Pakistan on Monday for a second round of peace talks with Iranian counterparts, according to a White House official. However, Iran has reportedly rebuffed those talks, citing the ongoing blockade as a breach of the ceasefire agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran.
Iran has stated that the blockade was one of its reasons for calling off the anticipated negotiations in Islamabad, which were originally scheduled for Monday.
Trump warned on Sunday that if Iran did not agree to the U.S.’s terms to end the conflict, he would "knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran."
The Department of Defense referred inquiries for further information about the seizure to the White House. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
AI contributed to the creation of this article.