Washington | President Donald Trump said the US forcibly seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to get around a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first such interception since the blockade of Iranian ports began last week.
He said a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom" and that US Marines had custody of the vessel, named Touska, and were "seeing what's on board!" Iran's joint military command said Tehran will respond soon and called the US seizure an act of piracy.
The news threw into question Trump's earlier announcement that US negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks with Iran. That had raised hopes of extending a fragile ceasefire set to expire by Wednesday, but Iran has not confirmed it would attend.
The escalating standoff threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed fighting that has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, nearly 2,300 in Lebanon, 23 civilians and 15 soldiers in Israel, and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US service members have also been killed.
Here is the latest:
Iran says it hangs 2 convicts claimed by opposition group
Iran said Monday it hanged two men it accused of setting fire to buildings on behalf of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad.
An Iranian exiled opposition group earlier claimed the men as members and alleged their charges stemmed from events that happened after they already had been detained.
The Mizan news agency of Iran's judiciary identified the men hanged as Mohammad Masoum Shahi and Hamed Validi.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq opposition group identified Shahi as Nima Shahi.
The MEK said the men had been "subjected to interrogation and torture" and convicted over an incident that happened before their detention.
This brings to eight the total number of MEK members executed since the start of the war.
Activists and rights groups say Iran routinely holds closed-door trials in which defendants are unable to challenge the accusations they face.
Hezbollah claims attack destroyed Israeli tanks
Hezbollah said it detonated explosives Sunday afternoon in an attack against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.
The group said in a statement Monday that bombs planted by Hezbollah fighters exploded and destroyed four tanks in a convoy of eight tanks that was passing the village of Deir Siryan.
It was the first claim of an attack by Hezbollah since a 10-day ceasefire went into effect at midnight Thursday.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Tehran says restrictions on Iranian oil come with a price
Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, says global fuel prices could stabilize only if economic and military pressures on Iranian oil exports end.
"One cannot restrict Iran's oil exports while expecting free security for others," Aref wrote on X. "The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone."
Iran's foreign minister says US is showing bad intentions and lack of seriousness in diplomacy'
Iran's top diplomat has told his Pakistani counterpart that Washington's demands in negotiations and its threats to Iranian ships and ports mark "clear signs" of America's disingenuousness.
Abbas Aragchi made the remarks in a phone call to Pakistan's foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, according to Iranian state media.
It's another indication of how the Washington-Tehran standoff is sharpening as the ceasefire is to expire on Wednesday. It could also shake up plans for a new US-Iran round of talks in Islamabad this week.
Iran's military vows swift response to US seizure of Iranian-flagged tanker
The Iranian military headquarters said the attack and subsequent boarding of the Iranian vessel by US forces was a violation of the ceasefire and an act of "maritime piracy," according to Iran's state-run broadcaster.
The United States says it fired on the ship and seized it because it had crossed the blockade line after ignoring multiple warnings.
CENTCOM releases video of US firing on Iranian-flagged vessel Touska
US Central Command released a message sent by a US Mariner to the Iranian-flagged tanker in a video posted on X, saying it shows the moments before the US seized Touska for crossing the US-imposed blockade line in the Gulf of Oman.
"Motor vessel Touska, Motor vessel Touska. Vacate your engine room. Vacate your engine room. We are about to subject you to disabling fire," can be heard in the video. Later, three rounds are fired, leaving smoke in their wake.
CENTCOM said its fire targeted the vessel's engine room before forces seized the ship. It said Touska was headed to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and ignored multiple US warnings over six hours to evacuate the engine room. The USS Spruance then fired, after which Marines boarded and took hold of the ship.
"American forces acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner to ensure compliance," it wrote on X.
Iran's president calls US blockade actions provocative and illegal
The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency has reported on President Masoud Pezeshkian's phone conversation with Pakistan's prime minister earlier today. The report says Pezeshkian alleged bullying and unreasonable behavior by the United States during negotiations and the ceasefire.
The report says Pezeshkian warned that the US actions and threatening rhetoric have led to increased suspicion among Iranian officials about the seriousness of the United States and the possibility that it will repeat previous patterns and "betray diplomacy." The report did not say whether Iran's president commented on a second round of talks in Pakistan, or on Trump's announcement that US forces had seized an Iranian-flagged ship.
French shipping company says one of its ships was targeted
CMA CGM said Sunday that one of its vessels was the target of warning shots. Trump said Iran had fired on French and British ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The International Maritime Organization confirmed that a French-flagged vessel was involved. The IMO, which regulates international shipping, said there have been 24 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and across the Middle East since March 1. The latest, on April 18, involved the CMA CGM Everglade, a container ship sailing under French flag. The IMO said it was damaged north of Kumzar, Oman, though no pollution or injuries were reported.
Trump said Sunday on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Iran had "fired bullets" in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that "many of them were aimed at a French ship and a freighter from the United Kingdom."
Trump said the US forcibly seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship Sunday that tried to get around its naval blockade
Trump, in a post on social media, said the ship was warned by a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman to stop but it did not.
"Our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room," Trump wrote.
He said US Marines had custody of the cargo ship, named Touska, and were "seeing what's on board!" The seizure escalates a back-and-forth with Iran over traffic in the strait and comes as the US was preparing for a second round of in-person talks with Iran as a fragile ceasefire runs out in days.
US energy secretary describes extending waiver on Russian oil sanctions as pragmatic'
The decision announced Friday at the Treasury Department came days after Secretary Scott Bessent had ruled out such a move, and Senate Democrats led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York called it "shameful." "Putin has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of President Trump's war against Iran, as Russia saw oil revenues nearly double in March," the Democrats' statement said. "Enough is enough." But Chris Wright said the Trump administration's reasoning was to ensure that India and other Asian countries receive oil that would have otherwise gone to China. He noted that India exports gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to Europe, where people are also concerned about fuel prices.
"These are short term, pragmatic decisions to allow oil that was already flowing to flow a different direction, and they're temporary," Wright said on "Fox News Sunday."
Pakistan and Iran aren't confirming Round 2 of US-Iran talks
Six hours have passed since US President Donald Trump said negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday for more talks with Iran, but neither Iran nor host Pakistan have confirmed it.
Pakistan has kept up the diplomacy today, with its prime minister holding a 45-minute call with Iran's president and Pakistan's foreign minister speaking with his Iranian counterpart.
But while authorities have begun tightening security in Islamabad, the only player that has openly committed to another round of talks is the Trump administration.
British military says situation in Hormuz critical'
The British military has declared the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf to be "critical," its highest risk level.
The military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, UKMTO, cited "a high level of activity by naval forces in the region." It said there is a "risk of attack or miscalculation" in the waterway.
The Iranian navy reimposed tight restrictions on transit through the strait as the US military implements a blockade on Iranian ports and waters. The UKMTO also cited multiple attacks on Saturday by Iranian forces on vessels passing through the strait.
Israel reveals new forward defense line' in southern Lebanon after ceasefire
The Israeli military says it has established the line and released a map showing troops operating south of it.
The deployment has been described elsewhere as a "Yellow Line." It says five divisions are working to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure. The line was not mentioned in ceasefire terms published by the United States.
The map shows dozens of villages inside the zone, stretching several kilometers into Lebanon, whose residents would likely be prevented from returning.
There was no immediate comment from Lebanese officials, but the move is likely to raise concerns in Lebanon about the scope and duration of Israel's presence.
Pope Leo XIV sees a sign of hope' for peace in the Middle East
Celebrating Mass before an estimated 100,000 people outside the capital of Angola on Sunday, Leo praised the cease-fire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah as a "sign of hope" that he prayed would bring peace permanently to the Middle East.
Leo mentioned the conflict as he called on Angolans to denounce the exploitation of their mineral-rich land and people, who still bear the scars of a brutal, post-independence civil war. "We wish to build a country where old divisions are overcome once and for all, where hatred and violence disappear, and where the scourge of corruption is healed by a new culture of justice and sharing," Leo said.
The American pope is on an African odyssey that will take him to an epicenter of the African slave trade with a history emblematic of the Catholic Church's role in forcing human bondage, and what some scholars say is the Holy See's continued refusal to fully acknowledge it and atone for it. (AP)
