Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on April 22 (local time) it seized three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian military has been tightening what it calls an armed blockade of the strait after a second round of U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks collapsed and U.S. President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire deadline until negotiations are concluded.
The Guard’s navy said it detained two container ships — the MSC Francesca and the Defaminodas — and took them into Iranian waters, alleging they tried to slip out of the strait without Iranian military authorization.
It also claimed the MSC Francesca is linked to Israel and said the two ships repeatedly violated regulations and manipulated their automatic identification system, or AIS.
Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that a third container ship, the Euphoria, was also seized by the Guard’s navy as it attempted to pass through the strait.
The navy said it would “continuously monitor” any actions that obstruct enforcement of Iran’s declared rules for passage through the strategic waterway or run counter to safe navigation.
The Associated Press reported the Guard fired on the three vessels before seizing them.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said that at about 7:55 a.m. a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz was attacked by Guard fast-attack craft.
The vessel reported to UKMTO that it had not communicated with the fast-attack craft before being hit, but Iran’s state-run Nour News said the Guard opened fire after the ship ignored military warnings.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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