Iran Attacks Ships in Strait of Hormuz as Trump Extends Ceasefire and U.S. Blockade Continues

President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran while continuing a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran responded by insisting reopening the strait was “impossible” if the blockade continued.

“Iran war: Trump's pattern of setting unenforced deadlines The latest ceasefire extension did not come with a new date”

ABC News

BBC reports that “Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said it is "not possible to reopen the Strait of Hormuz considering all the blatant violations of the ceasefire",” while Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said “The additional US blockade, as well as threats and breach of commitments are main obstacles to talks.”

ABC News

CBS News described the renewed pressure as Iran attacking commercial vessels in the strait “while calling the U.S. military's blockade of Iranian ports a breach of the ongoing ceasefire,” and it said the U.S. was sending “thousands more forces to the region.”

CBS also said U.S. Central Command directed “a total of 31 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the blockade against Iran,” and it added that “CENTCOM denies reports of ships evading blockade” by disputing claims that ships got through.

NPR reported that Iran attacked at least three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday “just hours after President Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran while continuing a U.S. naval blockade of the strait,” and it said the standoff “has put the possibility of U.S.-Iran peace talks in jeopardy.”

In parallel, the BBC said “Three cargo ships were attacked by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz,” and it reported that “two of them belong to the world’s biggest shipping company, MSC,” with “The crews of MSC Francesca and MSC Epaminondas” detained by Iran.

Reuters and other outlets in the provided material also tied the blockade to the broader economic pressure, with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporting that “more than 10 million barrels of Iranian crude left the Persian Gulf” since the blockade began and that the U.S. had “directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port since the beginning of the blockade.”

The ceasefire extension arrived after a sequence of deadlines and shifting expectations, and multiple outlets described how the U.S. and Iran treated the blockade as the central sticking point.

ABC News said Trump’s latest extension “did not come with a new date,” and it described how “Trump announced that he will indefinitely extend the current ceasefire with Iran and continue a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as talks continue.”

Al-Jazeera Net

ABC also laid out a timeline of enforcement pressure, including Trump’s March 21 demand that “If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time,” the U.S. would “hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”

It then described how Trump postponed strikes for “a five-day period” after “GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS,” and later extended again to “Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,” before pushing for a new opening deadline to “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!”

CNN described the immediate lead-up to the extension as a White House decision made while “Air Force Two was sitting on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews” for Vice President JD Vance’s scheduled departure to Pakistan.

CNN said the administration faced “virtual silence from the Iranians,” and it reported that officials believed “fractures within the current Iranian leadership” were complicating Iran’s ability to respond.

CNN quoted an Iranian adviser, saying “Trump’s ceasefire extension means nothing,” and it attributed the line to “Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf.”

In CNN’s account, Trump extended the ceasefire “until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” and it said Iranian officials sounded “unmoved.”

DW framed the extension as a window for diplomacy while warning that Tehran rejected U.S. claims, saying Tehran “rejects that claim, calling the blockade a siege and warning that the extension could mask plans for renewed attack.”

NPR added that Vice President Vance was due to lead a delegation to Islamabad for a second round of talks, but “the plan dissolved after Iran said it would not be attending,” and it reported that Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the ceasefire “only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime blockade.”

While the ceasefire was extended, the U.S. continued enforcement actions and disputed claims about how long mine clearance could take, with the blockade described as both operational and political.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that the U.S. Department of Defense said “US forces overnight carried out a maritime interdiction in the Indian Ocean and boarded a sanctioned, stateless vessel, the M/T Majestic X,” and it quoted the Pentagon writing on X that “International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors.”

The same outlet said that since the U.S. began its naval blockade of Iranian ports on “April 13,” it had “intercepted dozens of vessels,” and it added that an oil market analysis firm reported “more than 10 million barrels of Iranian crude left the Persian Gulf” since the blockade began.

It also described how Vortexa assessed that the U.S. blockade “is not necessarily implemented close to Iranian ports…but flexibly around an area about 300 miles to the west between the Pakistan/Iran border and the westernmost corner of Oman.”

The outlet further reported that the Pentagon disputed a Washington Post article, saying the newspaper claimed mine clearance could take “six months,” but the Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell rejected the report and said the media had been “cherry picking leaked information, much of which is false.”

In the same account, Parnell said a prolonged closure was “an impossibility and completely unacceptable” to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

CBS News also said U.S. Central Command directed “31 vessels to turn around or return to port,” and it included a CENTCOM post on X stating “These reports are inaccurate,” while naming “M/V Hero II, M/V Hedy, and M/V Dorena” as examples of alleged evasion.

CNBC reported that oil prices rose as Iran claimed to have seized two ships “shortly after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire,” and it said the U.S. maintained the naval blockade during the truce.

The enforcement picture also included the U.S. denying that the blockade was being evaded, while Iran insisted the blockade itself was a ceasefire violation, with NPR quoting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying “blockading Iranian ports is an act of war.”

The ceasefire extension and continued blockade drew sharply different reactions across the outlets, with some emphasizing diplomatic space and others emphasizing coercion and escalation risk.

DW described the extension as “at the request of Pakistan's prime minister,” and it said Washington kept its naval blockade in place while Tehran rejected the U.S. framing, calling the blockade “a siege” and warning the extension could “mask plans for renewed attack.”

Al-Watan

NPR similarly emphasized that the standoff jeopardized peace talks, reporting that “Vice President Vance was due to lead a delegation to Islamabad for a second round of talks, but the plan dissolved after Iran said it would not be attending,” and it quoted Iranian officials arguing that the ceasefire only works if the maritime blockade stops.

BBC reported that Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the blockade did not violate the ceasefire, stating “this does not violate the ceasefire,” and it also said Leavitt denied reports that the extended ceasefire had a deadline of “three to five days.”

Fox News framed the situation as a “nightmare scenario” and used a direct conditional timeline, with Hannity saying “In 3 to 5 days, Iran will cease hostilities, agree to the president's terms, come to a negotiated settlement, or they will face total destruction.”

The Economic Times offered a different angle by describing the U.S. insistence on blockade removal as a prerequisite for any agreement, saying Trump “has insisted on maintaining a naval blockade, which Iran is demanding must end before it can consider any agreement.”

Mehr News Agency presented a more polemical interpretation, describing a “deeply embedded pattern” in Trump’s approach and using the phrase “Trump Always Chickens Out,” while arguing that the extension reflected a retreat from threats.

Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty included a German government statement urging Iran to “seize the opportunity” of the cease-fire to continue diplomatic negotiations in Islamabad, and it said Germany called on Tehran to ensure the Strait of Hormuz is opened “permanently, reliably, and without restrictions or fees.”

Across these accounts, the same core facts—ceasefire extension, blockade continuation, and ship attacks—were framed through competing lenses of diplomacy, coercion, and credibility.

The sources tie the U.S.-Iran standoff to immediate economic stakes, including oil prices, shipping disruptions, and the prospect of further military action if talks fail.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that “Oil prices rose about 4 percent on April 23 as uncertainty over the fate of the cease-fire between Iran and the United States continued,” and it gave specific benchmarks, saying “US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract rose 4.06 percent to $96.73 per barrel” and “Brent North Sea crude, the global oil price index, also rose 3.62 percent to $105.63 per barrel.”

Anadolu Ajansi

CNBC described the same market pressure by saying “Oil prices rose Wednesday” and that “Brent crude rose more than 3% to close at $101.91 per barrel,” while “U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures advanced more than 3% to settle at $92.96 per barrel.”

CNBC also said the ceasefire extension did not necessarily lead to increased exports because “Tankers traffic in the strait remained light Wednesday as shippers face a dangerous security situation,” and it reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it seized two container ships “as they tried to cross the strait "without authorization," according to the state news agency Tasnim.”

The economic consequences were also described in terms of revenue and blockade effects, with CBS News noting that the U.S. blockade had been enforced at President Trump’s direction and with Fox News claiming Iran was “losing four to 500 million a day right now.”

At the diplomatic level, the next steps in the sources revolve around proposals and talks in Pakistan, with BBC saying Iran’s chief negotiator said it was “not possible to reopen the Strait of Hormuz” given ceasefire violations and with NPR reporting that the plan for Vance’s delegation to Islamabad dissolved after Iran said it would not be attending.

The German government statement in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty urged Iran to “seize the opportunity” of the cease-fire and warned that if Iran continues to block the strait, Germany is prepared to discuss “additional sanctions.”

Meanwhile, CBS News reported that the Senate rejected Democrats’ “5th attempt to limit Trump's war powers in Iran” in a “46 to 51 vote,” leaving the administration’s ability to continue military options in place.

Finally, CNN described the White House’s belief that it still might arrange a trip “if we receive indications that Iran is prepared to come back to the table,” but it also included Iran’s hardline response that the siege must be met with “a military response.”