“Vacate your engine room. We’re prepared to subject you to disabling fire,” warned US naval forces as an Iranian-flagged commercial tanker attempted to break through an American blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
After a six-hour stand-off, the Touska is reported to have shown no signs of heeding the warnings and attempted to push through regardless.
Moments later, US naval forces deployed a guided-missile destroyer, the USS Spruance, to fire at the ship, followed by marines rappelling on to the vessel shortly after.
It is the first such interception of an Iranian vessel since a US blockade was implemented on the country’s ports and coastal areas last week and marks an escalation in the protracted conflict between the warring countries.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) had previously said that the restriction would “not impede” travel through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes.
The beleaguered route – one of the world’s most vital shipping routes through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes – is seething with some of the world’s most powerful military vessels while trade ships wait in the wings and the global economy finds itself upended.
President Donald Trump said that the US navy hit the ship after it had failed to comply with warnings to stop. Iran has vowed to “respond and retaliate” for what it calls “armed piracy”.
Meanwhile, US vice president JD Vance indicated that he would lead another delegation for a second round of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, but Tehran said there were no plans for future talks while a blockade is in place.
Here is how the attack unfolded:
‘Hours’ of warnings given to Iranian ship
The Touska, a cargo ship measuring 294m (965ft) in length, was sailing near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday when it was warned by US Navy forces to stop. The ship is reported to have been under US sanctions.
The US has imposed a naval blockade of Iranian vessels, previously warning it would intercept ships that attempted to breach the restriction.
“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them,” Mr Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.
He said that the vessels were given warnings to stop but failed to comply “so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room”.
“The TOUSKA is under US Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!”
CENTCOM said that “the commercial ship failed to comply with repeated warnings from U.S. forces over a six-hour period”.
Marines ‘blew up engine room’ and stormed vessel
After the warnings were ignored, the US military then struck the engine room of the ship before US marines “rappelled” on to the Iranian-flagged vessel, boarding the ship and searching its contents.
CENTCOM released footage showing a gun firing in the direction of the cargo ship after a voice warns: “Vacate your engine room. We’re prepared to subject you to disabling fire.”
“The Marines rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel, April 19, after guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) disabled Touska’s propulsion when the commercial ship failed to comply with repeated warnings from U.S. forces over a six-hour period,” CENTCOM said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The navy personnel departed the amphibious assault ship the USS Tripoli (LHA-7) by helicopter and transited “over the Arabian sea to board and seize M/V Touska”.
A spokesperson for the Iranian military’s central command centre, Khatam al-Anbiya, said: “We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military,” according to Isna news agency.
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