CENTCOM Confirms US Interception of Iranian Vessel
Teheran: According to the statement made by the Iranian state media Tasnim news agency, Iran’s Hazrat Khatami al-Anbiya military headquarters confirmed that the USA carried out an attack on an Iranian commercial ship in the Oman Sea.
In the statement, it was confirmed that the ship was seized by violating the ceasefire and committing sea piracy, by opening fire on one of Iran’s commercial ships in the waters of the Oman Sea, and by deploying a large number of terrorist sailors on the deck of the ship in question and disabling its navigation system.
The statement also warned about the response from Tehran.
“We warn that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy carried out by the US army,” the statement said.
The warning came after US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces had intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, TOUSKA, in the Arabian Sea for allegedly violating the US naval blockade.
“TAMPA, Fla. – US forces operating in the Arabian Sea implemented naval blockade measures against an Iranian-flagged cargo ship attempting to sail towards an Iranian port on April 19,” CENTCOM said in a statement on channel X. he said.
It was stated that the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance stopped the ship while it was heading towards Bandar Abbas.
In the statement, “USS Spruance (DDG 111) caught the guided missile destroyer M/V Touska as it was passing through the northern Arabian Sea at a speed of 17 knots towards Bandar Abbas, Iran. American forces issued numerous warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged ship that it was violating the US blockade.”
According to CENTCOM, the ship did not comply with repeated warnings.
“After Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance instructed the ship to evacuate the engine room. Spruance fired several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room, disabling Touska’s propulsion. U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit then boarded the unfit ship, which remained in U.S. custody,” the statement said.
The US command said the action was carried out in a “deliberate, professional and proportionate manner” and noted that 25 merchant ships had been directed to return since the blockade began.
Previously, US President Donald Trump claimed that the ship trying to violate the blockade in the Gulf of Oman was “completely under surveillance” by American forces.
“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship called TOUSKA attempted to bypass our Naval Blockade and that did not go well for them,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding that the ship was stopped after it refused to heed warnings.
“Currently the ship is in the custody of the US Marine Corps… We have full custody of the ship and we see what is on it!” he added.
The incident occurred at a time of increased tension in the Strait of Hormuz, where the United States accused Iran of violating the ceasefire and disrupting maritime traffic.
Meanwhile, Iran denied US claims that it had agreed to participate in the second round of talks; The official IRNA news agency dismissed reports of talks planned in Islamabad, calling them part of a “media game”.
The developments came after the two-week ceasefire between the two sides ended on April 22.
