Trump’s troops blow hole in Iranian cargo ship as footage shows moment vessel defiantly ignores blockade

Footage has been released by US Central Command showing American troops punching a hole in an Iranian cargo ship after it attempted to breach the US blockade of the country’s coastline, according to Donald Trump.

The president announced the attack via Truth Social on Sunday afternoon, ahead of peace talks between negotiators from the United States and Iran in Pakistan on Monday.

Later, images were released showing US forces’ guided missile destroyer USS Spruance, operating in the Oman Sea, stopping M/V Touska on its way to Bandar Abbas, Iran.

It was heard that American forces issued numerous warnings to the Iranian-flagged ship, informing it that it was violating the US blockade.

After Touska’s crew failed to comply with warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance instructed the ship to evacuate the engine room before firing several rounds into Touska’s engine room from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun.

“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, which is nearly 900 feet long and weighs almost as much as an aircraft carrier, attempted to bypass our Naval Blockade and that did not go well for them,” Trump, 79, wrote.

‘US Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman and gave them fair warning to stop.

‘The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room (sic).

After Touska’s crew failed to comply with warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance fired several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room.

Sailors on the USS Spruance gave warnings to the crew of M/V Touska before opening fire

‘Currently the ship is under the custody of the US Marine Corps. TOUSKA is under US Treasury sanctions due to its previous history of illegal activity.

‘We have full surveillance of the ship and we see what’s on it!’

On April 17, the US military began blockading all ships attempting to leave or enter Iranian ports or the Iranian coastline, including the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

The blockade began when US negotiators failed to broker a peace deal with Iran on April 12 and JD Vance returned from Islamabad empty-handed.

Vance, joined by US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, is set to return to Pakistan’s capital on Monday in a second attempt to end the conflict.

Trump warned earlier Sunday that he would order the US military to “destroy every power plant and every bridge” in Iran if a peace deal is not reached.

“We are offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL and I hope they accept it because if they don’t the USA will disable every Power Plant and every Bridge in Iran,” Trump wrote.

‘THERE IS NO MORE MR. NICE MAN! They will fall quickly, they will fall easily, and if they do not accept the DEAL, it will be my honor to do to Iran what other presidents have had to do to Iran for the last 47 years.

According to Donald Trump, American soldiers created a hole in an Iranian cargo ship after it tried to break through the US blockade of the country’s coastline.

The president announced the attack via Truth Social on Sunday afternoon, ahead of peace talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday.

US Central Command shared a post about the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. Sailors and sailors aboard the dock landing ship USS Rushmore conduct blockade operations in the Arabian Sea

Sailors and sailors are seen aboard the landing craft USS Rushmore

‘IT IS TIME TO END THE IRANIAN DEATH MACHINE!’

As mediators push to extend the ceasefire, Iran has doubled down on its pledge to restrict ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports continues.

The dueling blockades have complicated Pakistan-led mediation attempts and raised questions about whether the two-week ceasefire can be extended.

“It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot pass,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in an interview broadcast on state television late Saturday. he said.

Qalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US, criticized the US blockade as a ‘pure decision taken out of ignorance’.

He said Iran still seeks peace despite deep distrust of the United States.

Writing on Truth Social on Sunday, President Donald Trump said that Iran decided to fire bullets at a French ship and a cargo ship from the United Kingdom in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.

‘There will be no retreat in the field of diplomacy,’ he said, acknowledging that the gap between the two sides remained wide.

Iran announced that the strait had been reopened after the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon came into force on Friday.

But after Trump said the US blockade of Iranian ports would ‘remain in full force’ until Tehran reached an agreement with the US.

Iran said it would continue to enforce restrictions in the strait.

After a short-term increase in crossing attempts on Saturday, ships in the Persian Gulf remained cautious and maintained their positions as two Indian-flagged ships were fired upon in the middle of the passage and had to turn back.

The president warned that he would order the US military to ‘destroy every power plant and every bridge’ in Iran if they reject the next peace deal. (Image: Smoke rises from buildings amid ongoing clashes in Tehran, Iran’s capital, on March 2, 2026)

Centcom published several photos of the US military’s operations in the Strait of Hormuz

USS Rushmore appears to be operating in the Strait of Hormuz

Their withdrawal would return the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade normally passes, to the status quo before the ceasefire, threatening to deepen the global energy crisis and push the sides into renewed conflict.

The closure of the strait, which was implemented after the USA and Israel started the war on February 28 during talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, is perhaps Iran’s most powerful weapon and threatens the world economy and causes political pain to Trump.

For the United States, the blockade squeezes Iran’s already weak economy and puts pressure on the government by hindering its long-term cash flow.