U.S. Navy intercepts, seizes Iranian cargo ship
A U.S. Navy destroyer intercepted and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship on Sunday, President Donald Trump said.
The ship named Touska was intercepted in the Gulf of Oman after the U.S. Navy “gave them fair warning to stop,” according to the president. Trump claims the “nearly 900 feet long” ship attempted to get through the naval blockade put in place nearly a week ago at the direction of Trump.
“The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room,” the president posted on Truth Social. “Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel. The Touska is under U.S. Treasury sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!”
The Department of War says the Touska was sailing toward an Iranian port, Bandar Abbas, when the USS Spruance issued “multiple warnings” and informed the cargo ship that it was “in violation of the U.S. blockade.”
The DOW argues the Touska “failed to comply” with the warnings that spanned over six hours, when the Spruance directed the cargo ship to “evacuate its engine room.” The U.S. naval ship then fired several rounds, disabling the Touska’s engine room.
The Pentagon says since the blockade was enacted last Monday, U.S. forces have intercepted 25 commercial vessels.
The latest developments come as the U.S. is set to reconvene negotiations with Iran in Pakistan Monday. It will be the second direct round of talks held in Pakistan in just over a week. However, last week’s marathon talks failed to secure a deal with the Islamic Republic.
Earlier Sunday, Trump issued a fresh warning to Iran to make a deal or face devastating attacks on power plants and bridges.
The two-week ceasefire with Iran is set to expire Wednesday.
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