U.S. Marines Seize Iranian-Flagged Touska After Six-Hour Standoff in Gulf of Oman

The United States seized the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska after a six-hour standoff at sea, disabling the vessel’s propulsion and boarding it with Marines launched from the USS Tripoli, according to multiple accounts.

The operation centered on the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance, which “fired several rounds from the destroyer's 5-inch MK 45 gun into Touska's engine room” after the ship failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, as described by ANI.

Al Jazeera

The Jerusalem Post reported that Marines boarded the ship on April 19 after “a six-hour standoff at sea,” rappelling from helicopters launched from USS Tripoli, and said the Spruance disabled the ship’s propulsion after it failed to comply with repeated US warnings.

The New York Times said the Navy disabled and seized Touska in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday after it tried to evade the blockade, and described the Spruance ordering the vessel’s crew to evacuate its engine room before firing “several rounds from its Mk-45 gun into the ship’s propulsion system.”

Al Jazeera said the capture happened “a little after midnight in Iran,” with CENTCOM announcing that Spruance fired its 5-inch MK 45 gun at the ship’s engine room and disabled it.

Al Jazeera also said the ship was headed to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and that the US had been enforcing a naval blockade since last Monday, in response to Iran blocking most vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

The same reporting emphasized that the Touska is an Iranian-flagged container ship, and that it is under sanctions issued by the US Treasury Department and the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, with owners accused of helping Iran break sanctions.

Iran condemned the seizure as an attack on civilian shipping and demanded the immediate release of the vessel, crew, and their families, while warning that it would respond once safety was ensured.

Tehran’s Foreign Ministry described the US seizure as “a terrorist act,” according to the Tehran Times, which quoted the ministry statement saying the action “constitutes piracy and a terrorist act...and violates the fundamental principles and rules of the UN Charter and international law.”

Al Jazeera

The Tehran Times also said the ministry called for immediate release and added that the measure “amounts to “an act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

In a letter to the UN, Iran’s ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council president that US forces on April 19 carried out a “hostile and illegal attack” on Touska using “coercion, intimidation, and reckless endangerment of the crew,” and said it bore “the essential characteristics of piracy.”

Mehr News Agency reported that Iravani urged the Security Council to “take an immediate and principled stance, explicitly condemn the act, ensure full accountability for those responsible, and compel the United States to release the vessel, its crew, their families and all affected persons without condition.”

UPI similarly reported that Iran demanded the United States release Touska and threatened to use “all its capacities” to defend itself as the cease-fire neared its end, quoting the ministry’s warning that the act was an “unlawful and savage act of the terrorist U.S. army.”

Türkiye Today said Iran lodged a formal complaint with the UN secretary-general and the International Maritime Organization, calling the seizure an “illegal and barbarous act” and saying it violated international law and the ceasefire agreement.

The dispute over what Touska was carrying and why it was targeted became part of the broader diplomatic and military confrontation.

“Tuesday, 21 April / Apr GMT 06:51, 2026 — Last updated 08:38:18 GMT”

Al-Maghrib al-Yawm

The Open Magazine reported that Nikki Haley claimed the ship “was headed from China to Iran and is linked to chemical shipments for missiles,” adding, “The ship the US seized in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend was headed from China to Iran and is linked to chemical shipments for missiles.”

Open Magazine said US forces seized the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska and cited Marine Traffic ship tracking data that the vessel was boarded on April 19 near Iran’s Chabahar Port in the Gulf of Oman.

Reuters reporting cited by Open Magazine said early assessments suggested the vessel may have been carrying “dual use materials,” which can be used for both civilian and military purposes, and noted that US Central Command has previously listed “metals, pipes and electronic components” among goods that could have both military and industrial applications.

Al Jazeera said it was unclear what the Touska was carrying and that Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that American troops were “seeing what’s on board.”

The Jerusalem Post added that Trump said Touska is under US Treasury sanctions due to its “prior history of illegal activity.”

The New York Times reported that Marines were searching “thousands of containers aboard the Touska,” and said American officials would determine what to do with the disabled vessel once the search was completed.

The Touska seizure unfolded as negotiations and ceasefire timing became central to the standoff.

Al Jazeera said the capture occurred “hours before Washington is due to send negotiators to Pakistan for talks aimed at ending their war,” and reported that Iran said it had no plans to send its negotiators for talks with the US in Islamabad.

Anadolu Ajansi

Al Jazeera quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei saying Tehran had “no plans to send its negotiators for talks with the US in Islamabad,” and said Baghaei accused the US of “violating the ceasefire” that had largely held between the US and Iran since April 9.

ANI reported that Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded “immediate release” of Touska and its personnel and said the statement warned that such actions by Washington threaten to destabilise the Middle East, adding that “the full responsibility for the further complication of the situation in the region lies with the United States.”

UPI said the cease-fire was to end at midnight Tuesday and described Iran’s accusations that Trump was “ducking real negotiations” by imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire.

Türkiye Today said the incident came amid continued uncertainty over whether a second round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran will take place in Pakistan this week, and said U.S. Vice President JD Vance was reportedly set to travel to Islamabad while Iran had not yet confirmed its attendance.

The New York Times reported that the US Navy had turned back 27 ships trying to enter or exit Iranian ports since the blockade began about a week ago, underscoring how the maritime pressure was already affecting shipping flows.

Both sides portrayed the incident as a decisive test of resolve, with Iran warning of retaliation and the US describing the action as enforcement of a blockade.

“ANI |Updated:Apr 21, 2026 10:06IST Tehran [Iran], April 21 (ANI): The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has demanded the urgent release of a commercial ship and its personnel following a maritime incident involving US forces”

ANI News

The Tehran Times quoted Iran’s Foreign Ministry statement saying “Iran will use all its capacities to defend Iran’s national interests and security, and to safeguard the rights and dignity of its people,” and said it was “clear that the United States bears full responsibility for any further escalation of the situation in the region.”

ANI News

The same report said Iran’s military warned it would deal decisively with the American “aggressor forces,” while Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari said the presence of family members on board constrained immediate action, adding, “Given the current situation, once the safety of the families and crew of the vessel targeted by American aggression is ensured, the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will take the necessary action against the terrorist US Army.”

ANI reported that Iran’s Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters confirmed the action and that Tehran accused the US of “violating the ceasefire and committing maritime piracy,” while also issuing a direct warning: “We warn that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military.”

On the US side, the Jerusalem Post said Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Iranian crew refused to listen and that “our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room,” and it said the US Central Command confirmed the attack as “performed by guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance.”

Al Jazeera described CENTCOM’s position that “American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel [the Touska] it was in violation of the US blockade,” and said that after repeated failures to comply, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room before firing.

Together, these accounts show how the Touska incident is being used by both sides to justify next steps—whether retaliation and demands for release on the Iranian side, or continued blockade enforcement and verification of cargo on the US side.