Illustrative image. (U.S. Central Command)
Iran attacked a number of United States warships in the Arabian Sea on April 19 after one of its commercial vessels was seized by the latter.
The seizure was announced by President Donald Trump himself, who said that the vessel attempted to breach a blockade the U.S. has been maintaining around Iranian ports.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The US Navy guided missile destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave [it a] fair warning to stop,” Trump continued. “The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineer room. Right now, US Marines have custody of the vessel.”
“The TOUSKA is under US Treasury sanctions because of [its] prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” he added.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) published footage showing an American guided-missile destroyer opening fire on the Iranian vessel.
The destroyer “intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at 17 knots en route to Bandar Abbas, Iran. American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade,” the command said in a statement.
It added that after Touska’s crew “failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room.”
The destroyer disabled the vessel’s propulsion “by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room,” according to the command.
“US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) later boarded the non-compliant vessel, which remains in U.S. custody,” CENTCOM said.
CENTCOM added that its forces “acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner to ensure compliance.”
The command later shared additional footage from the seizure, revealing that the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, a part of the 31st MEU, was involved.
“U.S. Marines depart amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) by helicopter and transit over the Arabian Sea to board and seize M/V Touska. The Marines rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel, April 20, 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,” CETCOM wrote on X.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire, with its spokesman saying that the seized vessel was en route from China to Iran.
“We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military,” the spokesperson said.
Later, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the Islamic Republic launched drone strikes against several U.S. warships in the Arabian Sea.
The escalation came as Pakistan intensified diplomatic contacts with both the U.S. and Iran to ensure that talks planned for April 21 in Islamabad will be held.
The Islamic Republic has not confirmed that it will be sending a delegation to the talks, which are widely seen as a last ditch effort to prevent the renewal of the war. Only a few days are left until the end of the ceasefire, and Trump has already renewed threats against Iranian energy facilities. Still, all recent reports suggest that both countries are still too far apart on key issues, like the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium.
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we don’t want to see the us terrorist pirate videos. we want to see iranian missile and drones videos hitting the bastards.
centcom added that its forces “acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner to ensure compliance.”
bs!
freaking cowards.