On April 22 local time, Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said it detained two container ships — the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas — in Iranian waters to inspect cargo and related documents. The IRGC said the ships tried to leave the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian military permission.
The IRGC alleged the MSC Francesca may have links to Israel and said both vessels repeatedly violated regulations and manipulated their automatic identification system, or AIS.
Mehr News Agency separately reported that another container ship, the Euphoria, was also seized by the IRGC Navy while transiting the strait.
The United States has also increased pressure at sea. Reuters, citing shipping and security sources, reported that U.S. forces in recent days blocked the movement of at least three Iranian-flagged tankers near waters off India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka and ordered them to change course.
Confusion has persisted over the ceasefire extension. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said she was aware of media reports citing anonymous sources that mentioned a three- to five-day deadline.
“That is not true. The president did not set a deadline for himself,” she said.
Leavitt said there is “clearly a lot of division” inside Iran, calling it a fight between pragmatists and hard-liners, and said the president wants a unified response from Tehran.
She added that while the ceasefire is holding on “military and physical strikes” as the U.S. waits for that response, “Operation Grand Rage” is continuing, as is a maritime blockade on ships traveling to and from Iranian ports.
Fox News also reported that Trump, in an interview with the network, said there was “no time pressure” and that a three- to five-day deadline was not true.
Iran’s leadership maintained a hard line. President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X that the Islamic Republic has always welcomed dialogue and agreements and will continue to do so, but said “malicious distrust, blockades and threats” are the main obstacles to real negotiations.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who leads Iran’s delegation for end-of-war talks, wrote on X that a full ceasefire is meaningful only if the maritime blockade and what he called holding the global economy hostage end, and if “Zionist forces” stop military provocations on all fronts.
“As long as such blatant ceasefire violations continue, reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible,” he wrote, adding that “they” failed to achieve their goals through military attacks and will not succeed through pressure and threats either.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.