Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17766430635041776435480474AFP__20260304__99WD7EN__v1__HighRes__IranIsraelUsConflictTransport (1).webp" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A person points at a page on the Marinetraffic website that shows commercial boats traffic on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast, in Paris on March 4, 2026. <em>Photo by Julien De Rosa/AFP</em><br/></span></span></span></div><p>WASHINGTON, United States — A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/4/19/iran-says-final-deal-still-far-off-as-hormuz-strait-shuttered-1708">Iran says final deal still far off as Hormuz Strait shuttered</a></div><p>Trump posted on Truth Social that after the Iranian vessel, Touska, ignored warnings to stop, the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance &quot;stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,&quot; the US president added, &quot;and are seeing what&#x27;s on board!&quot;</p><p>The incident comes with tensions high in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world&#x27;s oil and liquefied natural gas, which has been virtually closed since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran seven weeks ago.</p><p>Iran briefly reopened the strait on Friday in recognition of an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon, but closed it again the following day in response to the United States maintaining its blockade on ships traveling to and from Iranian ports.</p><p>US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday that the Touska was attempting to sail toward the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.</p><p>The Spruance fired several rounds from a five-inch caliber gun to disable the Iranian ship&#x27;s propulsion after directing it &quot;to evacuate its engine room,&quot; CENTCOM said in a post on X accompanied by a short video showing rounds fired at a vessel in the distance after the warning.</p><p>CENTCOM said US forces have directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port since the US blockade began.</p><p>Trump said the Touska is under US Treasury sanctions &quot;because of prior history of illegal activity.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/4/17/hormuz-passage-completely-open-for-rest-of-ceasefire-iran-2220">Hormuz passage &#x27;completely open&#x27; for rest of ceasefire: Iran</a></div><p>The Touska is listed on the Treasury&#x27;s Office of Foreign Assets Control website as an Iranian-flagged container under US sanctions.</p><p>According to the latest data available from the Marine Traffic website, about six hours before Trump&#x27;s announcement the Touska was about 45 kilometers (28 miles) off the southern coast of Iran, near the city of Chabahar.</p><p>Another ship monitoring site, Tanker Tracker, said the Touska had sailed from Malaysia.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>.</p>

<p>A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.</p>

A US destroyer on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said Sunday.

US destroyer fires on, seizes Iran cargo ship trying to evade blockade

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US destroyer fires on, seizes Iran cargo ship trying to evade blockade

Agence France-Presse

Published April 20, 2026 07:58 AM PHT

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Agence France-Presse

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