Trump Says U.S. Forces Seize Iranian Vessel Amid Escalating Gulf Standoff
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the vessel ignored repeated warnings to halt, prompting a U.S. guided missile destroyer to open fire.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that a U.S. Navy destroyer intercepted and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman after it allegedly attempted to evade a U.S.-imposed naval blockade.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the vessel ignored repeated warnings to halt, prompting a U.S. guided missile destroyer to open fire. He claimed the ship was disabled after forces “blew a hole in the engineroom,” bringing it to a stop. “Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,” he added.
The incident comes amid intensifying tensions between Washington and Tehran in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, where both sides have imposed competing maritime restrictions.
According to U.S. officials, the blockade — initiated on April 13 — targets vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports. United States Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that the measures have effectively halted Iran’s sea-based trade.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Saturday that it had re-closed the Strait of Hormuz to all commercial traffic, reversing a brief reopening just one day earlier.
The overlapping restrictions have resulted in what analysts describe as “dueling blockades,” significantly disrupting maritime commerce in one of the world’s most critical energy transit routes.