Trump Says US Navy Seized Iranian-Flagged Touska After Crew Refused Warnings

The United States seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, the M/V Touska, after US President Donald Trump said the ship tried to get past the US naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said the ship was warned by a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman to stop, but its “crew refused to listen”.

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He added that the US Navy “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room” and that US Marines had custody of the vessel, and were “seeing what’s on board”.

US Central Command said the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance warned the Touska repeatedly over a six-hour period, during which time the container ship was steaming toward Bandar Abbas.

CNN reported that the US released footage showing the USS Spruance firing on the Iran-linked M/V Touska and Marines rappelling from helicopters onto its deck after it was disabled.

NPR similarly reported that Trump said the USS Spruance intercepted the Touska in the Gulf of Oman and that the US Marines have custody of the vessel.

The BBC described the incident as the first ship seized by the US since its blockade of Iranian ports began, and it said Trump wrote that the ship was seized after failing to respond to a warning to stop.

Multiple outlets described the mechanics of how the Touska was stopped and disabled before boarding.

CNN said US Central Command reported that the USS Spruance warned the Touska repeatedly over a six-hour period and that the destroyer hit the Touska with “several rounds” from its 5-inch gun.

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CNN also quoted a CENTCOM statement saying, “US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the non-compliant vessel, which remains in US custody,” after video showed the warship firing three shots at Touska after warning its crew to evacuate the ship’s engine room.

CNBC likewise said the Spruance fired several rounds from the destroyer's 5-inch MK gun into the Touska's engine room after warning the ship's crew to evacuate that room, and it said the Touska's crew “failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period.”

Al Jazeera reported that Trump said US Marines had custody of the vessel and were “seeing what’s on board,” while it also said Iran’s top joint military command claimed the US violated a ceasefire by firing at an Iranian commercial ship.

The Florida’s Voice account added that the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the M/V Touska as it sailed toward the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas at about 17 knots and said no injuries were reported in the operation.

Across the reporting, the operation was tied to the US blockade of Iranian ports, with NPR saying the attack “appears to be an escalation of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The seizure immediately intersected with planned diplomacy between the United States and Iran, with outlets describing how the incident threatened or complicated talks.

Al Jazeera said Trump’s statement came hours after he said US negotiators would travel to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday for possible talks with Iran aimed at ending the US-Israel war on Iran, and it said hopes had been raised for extending a fragile ceasefire set to expire by Wednesday.

It also reported that Iranian state media said Tehran had not agreed to a second round of talks.

NPR said US officials were heading to Islamabad, Pakistan, for another round of talks with Iran to negotiate the end of the war, and it named the three US officials as Vice President Vance, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

NPR also reported that on Sunday afternoon, Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, said the government had declined to join the talks and cited “Washington's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade.”

The Washington Post described the planned second round of face-to-face peace talks as remaining on shaky footing after Iranian officials threatened not to attend following the US seizure.

In parallel, Al Jazeera reported Iran’s top joint military command said the US violated a ceasefire reached earlier this month by firing at an Iranian commercial ship heading from China to Iran.

The reporting diverged in emphasis, especially around what the seizure meant and how it was framed as either enforcement or “spoils of war.”

CNN headlined that the seized ship could become ‘spoils of war’ and explained that what happens next “may depend on what it was carrying,” with experts telling CNN that the Touska could eventually become property of the US government as a “prize.”

Al Jazeera

CNN quoted Jennifer Parker saying, “Under the laws of naval warfare, you can seize a vessel in these circumstances (that) has tried to run a blockade,” and it quoted her on the need for a prize court if the US chose to keep it for the long term.

CNN also quoted analyst Carl Schuster saying it “can be treated as a ‘spoils of war,’” and it described how the fate of the crew could depend on nationality, including a scenario where “If it was Indian or Filipino sailors, I would suspect the crew would just be taken off the vessel and repatriated.”

The Washington Post, by contrast, focused on the diplomatic fallout, describing talks as “on shaky footing” and tying the seizure to Iranian threats not to attend.

Al Jazeera foregrounded Iran’s response and the ceasefire dispute, quoting Khatam al-Anbiya’s warning that Iran would “soon respond and retaliate” and describing the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz as amid threats from Iran and a US blockade “in place since April 13.”

BBC’s explainer centered on what was known so far, saying Trump wrote on Truth Social that the ship was seized after failing to respond to a warning to stop and that Iran said it was a violation of the ceasefire and it would retaliate soon for an “act of armed piracy.”

The seizure was presented across outlets as part of a widening standoff with potential consequences for shipping and global energy flows, while Iran and US officials traded retaliation threats.

“US forces attack and seize Iranian ship Touska near Strait of Hormuz US President Donald Trump has said United States forces have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to get past his country’s naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said the standoff was amid threats from Iran and a US blockade on ships heading to and from Iranian ports, and it described the Strait of Hormuz as a chokepoint for the shipment of about a fifth of the world’s oil.

Al Jazeera

It also said earlier on Sunday Iranian officials said ships would not pass while the US blockade remained in effect, quoting Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf saying, “It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot.”

NPR reported that the US forced 23 ships to turn around as part of its blockade of Iranian ports and said about 20% of the world’s crude oil and natural gas typically passes through the narrow waterway.

The Military outlet described the seizure as a turning point that pushed US operations from deterrence into active interdiction at a chokepoint that carries roughly 20% of global oil and about the same amount of global liquefied natural gas trade.

It also said Tehran responded within hours, accusing Washington of “piracy” and warning that retaliation could follow if US forces continue enforcing the blockade.

Times Union added that oil prices climbed Monday and quoted the Brent crude price rising 5.6% to settle at $95.48, while it also said U.S. stocks gave back a bit of their record-breaking rally.