US seizes Iranian-flagged cargo ship

已複製連結

The United States said it forcibly seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to pass its naval blockade in the northern Arabian sea near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first such interception since the blockade of Iranian ports began last week.

The news threw into question President Donald Trump's earlier announcement that US negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks with Iran. A fragile ceasefire is set to expire by Wednesday, and Washington and Tehran remain in a standoff over the strait.

Trump on social media said a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman warned the ship, the Touska, to stop and then "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom." US Marines had custody of the US-sanctioned vessel and were "seeing what's on board!"

There was no immediate Iran comment. The US Central Command said the destroyer had issued "repeated warnings over a six-hour period."