US Navy seizes Iranian-flagged cargo ship defying Hormuz blockade, says Trump

US President Donald Trump has claimed that American forces have taken custody of an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel after it allegedly attempted to pass through a US naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the vessel, identified as Touska, was intercepted in the Gulf of Oman by the US Navy destroyer USS Spruance.

“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them,” Trump wrote.

He claimed the ship ignored warnings and was stopped by US marines. “Right now, US Marines have custody of the vessel We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” he said. Trump also alleged that the vessel is under US Treasury sanctions due to previous “illegal activity”.

The reported seizure of an Iran-flagged vessel comes at a tense point in the standoff, with US President Donald Trump racing to secure a deal with Iran before a two-week ceasefire expires on Tuesday.

Constructive diplomatic efforts had picked up earlier in the day after Trump told The New York Post that his special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, would travel to Islamabad for the next round of talks.

“Steve’s going to be going there tomorrow night,” Trump said, adding that negotiations were expected to resume soon after their arrival. There were, however, mixed signals over the US delegation. While Trump said Vice President JD Vance would not travel, earlier remarks from US envoy to the United Nations Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright had suggested Vance would lead the talks in Islamabad.

Any momentum towards negotiations was short-lived. Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency later reported that Tehran would not take part in the planned second round of talks in Pakistan, blaming Washington’s approach. Tehran cited “excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions”, as well as an ongoing US naval blockade of its ports, which it considers a violation of the truce.

According to semi-official Tasnim Agency, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian referred to the “continued breaches of commitments and the bullying and unreasonable behavior of the United States during the negotiations and the ceasefire period”.

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