The United States has claimed that it has taken an Iranian vessel into custody after it allegedly attempted to bypass a US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman. The information was shared by US President Donald Trump on Truth Social.
Notably, the US had imposed the blockade on Iranian ports following Tehran’s move to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz.
“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 U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the 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 right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom,” the post read.
“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!” it added.
Iran confirms attack on vessel
The claim was confirmed by Iran’s Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters.
According to a statement reported by Iran’s state media outlet Tasnim news agency, the headquarters acknowledged that the incident involved an attack on the vessel. Tehran has also warned of retaliatory action in response to the attack on its vessel.
"The aggressive America, by violating the ceasefire and committing maritime piracy, attacked one of Iran's commercial ships in the waters of the Sea of Oman by firing upon it and disabling its navigation system by deploying several of its terrorist marines on the deck of the mentioned vessel", the statement said, confirming that the ship had been seized.
"We warn that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military," it added.
