Trump Says U.S. Seized Iranian-Flagged Touska After Navy Disabled Engine Near Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump said United States forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, the Touska, after a US Navy guided missile destroyer warned the vessel to stop near the Strait of Hormuz.

“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

In a social media post on Sunday, 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”.

Al Jazeera

Trump 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”.

CNBC reported that the USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian ship, the Touska, and “gave them fair warning to stop,” with Trump saying the “Iranian crew refused to listen” before the Navy disabled the engine room.

The incident was described by the US Central Command as involving a six-hour period of warnings before the ship was fired on and boarded, with CENTCOM later releasing a video showing a Spruance crew member warning the Touska in a radio transmission: “We're prepared to subject you to disabling fire.”

The Guardian said the US military attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged container ship attempting to get past an American blockade near the strait of Hormuz, and it described the operation as the first such interception since the blockade of Iranian ports began last week.

Multiple outlets described the mechanics of how the Touska was stopped and seized, emphasizing warnings, evacuation orders, and disabling fire.

CNBC said the USS 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

NPR similarly said the U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the Touska in the Gulf of Oman, and Trump wrote that the Navy “gave them fair warning to stop” before firing on the engine room and that “U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel.”

The Guardian described US Central Command video and audio in which a US sailor could be heard saying, “Vacate your engine room,” and “We’re prepared to subject you to disabling fire,” before the USS Spruance fired on the Touska.

CNN added operational detail, saying Marines rappelled from helicopters onto the deck after the guided-missile destroyer fired on the ship and disabled it, and it reported that “US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the non-compliant vessel, which remains in US custody.”

Fox News reported that the Touska was seized in the Gulf of Oman, just outside the Strait of Hormuz, and that US forces intercepted the vessel after it ignored repeated warnings to stop, with the Navy warning for roughly six hours before firing several rounds into the engine room and disabling propulsion.

The seizure was framed by US officials as part of a broader naval blockade and as an escalation tied to sanctions and negotiations.

Al Jazeera said the US blockade was “in place since April 13” and that Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, “It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot.”

CNBC said the U.S. has been operating a naval blockade of ships entering and exiting Iranian ports since last week, and it described the seizure as an escalation of the blockade after Iran fired upon commercial vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz earlier Sunday.

NPR said the attack appeared to be an escalation of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and it reported that as part of the blockade, the U.S. had so far directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port.

NPR also tied the seizure to diplomacy, saying U.S. officials were heading to Islamabad, Pakistan, for another round of talks with Iran, naming Vice President Vance, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner.

NBC News said Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the seizure as “piracy” and an “act of aggression” and demanded the crew be immediately released, while also stating “no decision has been made” on whether to hold new talks.

Outlets diverged in how they characterized the incident, the legal framing, and what it meant for the ceasefire and negotiations.

The Guardian said Iran’s joint military command called the US seizure an act of piracy that violated the ceasefire that had been in place since 8 April, and it said the news threw into question Trump’s announcement about talks in Pakistan.

Al-Bawaba News

Al Jazeera reported Iran’s top joint military command said the US violated a ceasefire by firing at an Iranian commercial ship, quoting Khatam al-Anbiya: “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,”.

NBC News described Iran’s foreign ministry condemnation as “piracy” and an “act of aggression” and said it demanded the crew be immediately released, while also quoting the ministry calling it an “illegal and brutal act” that “constitutes piracy and a terrorist action.”

CNN focused on what might happen next, including the possibility of the Touska becoming a “prize,” quoting Jennifer Parker: “Under the laws of naval warfare, you can seize a vessel in these circumstances (that) has tried to run a blockade,”.

Business Insider and Fox News emphasized different angles of enforcement and cargo, with Business Insider describing the escalation from warnings to disabling fire and Fox News quoting Ray Powell saying the blockade-running attempt was “particularly foolish” while stressing that what was on board remains unknown.

The seizure immediately raised stakes for retaliation, energy markets, and the fragile ceasefire timeline described by multiple outlets.

Al Jazeera reported Iran’s top joint military command said the US violated a ceasefire reached earlier this month and quoted Khatam al-Anbiya warning it would “soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military,”.

Ammon News

NBC News said Iran’s military vowed retaliation and described the ceasefire as expiring Wednesday, while also quoting Trump’s threat that he would “knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran.”

The Washington Post reported that Iran threatened to retaliate Monday after the U.S. military seized the ship, sending oil prices soaring and further imperiling a fragile ceasefire, and it said the seizure came hours after Trump renewed threats of broad attacks on Iran’s infrastructure if no deal is reached in talks expected this week in Pakistan.

CNN said what happens now to the ship and its crew may depend on what it was carrying, and it quoted Jennifer Parker explaining that the vessel could become a “prize” under naval warfare laws and might require a prize court.

CNN also described a next-step process, saying the Touska will be taken to an anchorage or port for inspection or valuation, and it reported that once cargo can be determined it could eventually become property of the US government as a “prize.”