Barney Davis
Published April 19, 2026 8:50pm
Updated April 19, 2026 10:32pm
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Donald Trump has said the US Navy have seized an Iranian cargo ship after ‘blowing a hole in their engine room’ on the Strait of Hormuz.
The US President claimed his forces are now searching the Touska cargo ship after it was ‘stopped in its tracks’ on Sunday evening.
In video released by US Central Command, the crew order the ship to ‘vacate the engine room’ over the radio.
‘We are prepared to subject you to disabling fire’, a US sailor warns.
But when Touska’s crew failed to comply, Spruance ‘disabled’ Touska’s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun at their engine room.
They added: ‘Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the non-compliant vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.’
CENTCOM has released footage showing the Iranian-flagged vessel TOUSKA being intercepted and engaged by the USS Spruance. pic.twitter.com/6coTYs5vI0
— GMI (@Global_Mil_Info) April 19, 2026
Trump announced the capture on Truth Social, writing: ‘Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them.
‘The US Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop.
Tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island (Picture: AP)
‘The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room. Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel.
‘The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!’
But the Iranian-linked Mehr news agency reported a different situation.
‘American terrorist forces deployed to the waters surrounding the Sea of Oman and opened fire on an Iranian merchant ship to force it to return to Iranian territorial waters’, the statement read without naming the ship.
‘However, with the timely presence and rapid response of the IRGC naval units in support of the Iranian ship, the Americans were forced to retreat and flee the area’.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) raised the threat level for the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman to ‘critical.’
UKMTO said one of the world’s busiest shipping routes faces risks including navigation interference, blockade enforcement, mines and residual kinetic threats, with a risk of attack or miscalculation.
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Previous Page Next PageEarlier, the US President said Iran had committed a ‘total violation of our ceasefire agreement’ in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to ‘knock out every single Power Plant’ and bridge if a deal isn’t made between the warring countries.
Trump said there would be ‘NO MORE MR. NICE GUY’ with Iran and called for ‘the Iran killing machine to end’.
In the Truth Social post this afternoon, he also said that Iran fired bullets at a French ship and a UK freighter in the Strait of Hormuz.
However, Metro understands the government has received no reports of any attacks on UK-linked vessels on Saturday.
Iran announced barely 24 hours ago that the key shipping lane would be ‘completely open’ for the duration of the current ceasefire agreement.
But they closed it again yesterday morning in retaliation after the US pressed ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran’s joint military command said ‘control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state … under strict management and control of the armed forces’.
Tui Cruises also confirmed on Sunday that two of its ships, Mein Schiff 4 and Mein Schiff 5, passed through the Strait of Hormuz after obtaining approvals from relevant authorities.
Iran hit out at Trump’s bullying tactics (Picture: Allison Robbert – Pool via CNP/Shutterstock)
Peace talks stumble
Donald Trump said he ‘feels fine’ about negotiations with Iran, Axios reported.
‘The concept of the deal is done. I think we have a very good chance to get it completed,’ Axios quoted Trump as saying.
‘If they don’t sign this deal, the whole country is going to get blown up,’ Trump told Fox News.
Masoud Pezeshkian said the US has betrayed diplomacy (Picture: Iranian Presidency/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)
But Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian released a statement lashing out at Trump’s ‘bullying’.
His statement referred to the ‘continued breaches of commitments and the bullying and unreasonable behaviour of the United States during the negotiations and the ceasefire period’.
‘The continuation of provocative and illegal actions by this country in the so-called naval blockade of Iran as a clear violation of the ceasefire understanding and contrary to the United Nations Charter…
‘Such actions, along with the threatening rhetoric of American officials against Iran, only lead to increased distrust regarding the seriousness of the United States and reveal more than ever that the US seeks to repeat previous patterns and betray diplomacy.’
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The US and Iran are in the middle of a fragile truce which is due to last until April 22, while Israel and Lebanon have begun a 10-day ceasefire.
A UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon came under attack with small arms fire Saturday morning, leaving one French peacekeeper dead and three others wounded, two of them seriously, France’s president said.
‘Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah,” Macron wrote on social media.
‘France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest those responsible and assume their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL,’ the U.N. mission in southern Lebanon.
Arrow MORE: UK denies Trump’s claim British ships hit in Strait of Hormuz
Arrow MORE: Disturbing audio captures moment ship captain in Hormuz Strait begs Iran ‘let me turn back’
Arrow MORE: Pope Leo XIV says his ‘tyrants’ remarks were not aimed at Trump
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