Ships seized, attacked in Strait of Hormuz as uncertainty clouds US-Iran peace talks

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DUBAI – Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22, tightening its grip on the strategic waterway after US President Donald Trump called off attacks on the Islamic republic indefinitely, with no clear sign of peace talks resuming.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claimed to have seized the MSC Francesca and Epaminondas after they attempted to navigate “without the necessary permits”. The navy said it was directing both ships to Iran’s coast.

“Disrupting the order and security of the Strait of Hormuz is our red line,” it said in a statement shared by the semi-official Tasnim news.

Earlier in the day, at least two cargo ships were fired upon in the strait, just hours after Mr Trump announced that the truce between the US and Iran would be extended.

An Iranian gunboat fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre said.

“The master of a container ship reported that the vessel was approached by one IRGC gunboat that then fired upon the vessel, which has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported,” said UKMTO, an organisation administered by the British Royal Navy.

It said the incident took place 15 nautical miles north-east of Oman, and all the crew were safe.

According to British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech, the vessel was sailing under a Liberian flag and “had been informed it had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz”.

But Iranian news agency Tasnim said the ship “ignored warnings from Iran’s armed forces”.

In a separate incident, a cargo ship eight nautical miles west off Iran was fired upon and stopped in the water. It was unclear who had targeted the ship.

“A master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel,” UKMTO said.

Vanguard identified it as the Panama-flagged containership Euphoria, which it said was “transiting outbound of the Strait of Hormuz”.

“It remains unclear whether she has resumed transiting,” the firm said.

Marine Traffic showed that the ship was headed from the Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

The US Navy is attempting to block vessels heading to and from Iranian ports, while Tehran has said vessels must seek permission to leave or enter the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the latest attacks, Mr Trump announced that the truce between the US and Iran would be extended after it first took effect on April 8. He said he pushed back the end of the two-week truce at the request of Pakistani mediators and to give Iran’s “fractured” leadership time to form a proposal.

‘Collapsing financially’

The ceasefire has brought some respite to a region engulfed in war for weeks. But with no agreement yet in place, uncertainty has remained and brought little relief to global markets.

Mr Trump, who said the US blockade of Iran’s ports would continue, also said Iran was “collapsing financially” due to the blockade of Hormuz.

“They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately – Starving for cash! Losing 500 million dollars a day. Military and police (are) complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!” he wrote on social media.

Iran has all but shut the strait, a key conduit for global energy flows, since the US and Israel launched a massive attack on the Islamic republic that sparked the Middle East war.

Residents in the Iranian capital said life has worsened despite the truce.

“This cursed ceasefire has broken us,” 39-year-old Saghar said. “I don’t know anyone around me who is doing well.”

Oil prices jumped on April 22, with Brent trading above US$100 a barrel, erasing earlier losses after reports of attacks on container ships sailing through the strait.

Britain and other US allies have previously told Washington that they would not join any military effort to forcibly reopen the strait.

But with a truce now in place, albeit temporary, the British Defence Ministry said it would host two days of Britain-France-led talks on the waterway involving more than 30 countries starting on April 22.

Pakistan talks?

The fate of peace talks hosted by Pakistan remains unclear. A previous round collapsed with Tehran accusing the US of making excessive demands on Hormuz and its nuclear programme.

A White House official confirmed that US Vice-President J.D. Vance would not travel to Pakistan for a new round of negotiations as previously planned, pending the submission of an Iranian proposal.

Iran, on the other hand, said it never announced whether it had decided to send a delegation, with experts saying its non-committal was a way to put pressure on the Trump administration.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Mr Trump for extending the ceasefire. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also welcomed the move.

In Lebanon, which was also plunged into war when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge its killing of Iran’s supreme leader, an Israeli strike killed one person and wounded two others on April 22, Lebanese state media said.

A separate 10-day ceasefire was agreed between the two nations on April 17 and included Hezbollah.

But the militant group on April 21 said it launched rockets and attack drones at northern Israel in response to “blatant” ceasefire violations, which it said included “attacks on civilians and the destruction of their homes and villages”.

The Israeli military said that day that Hezbollah “launched several rockets” towards soldiers still stationed in southern Lebanon and that the military struck the launcher in response.

Israel and Lebanon, which have no diplomatic relations, will hold fresh talks in Washington on April 23, a State Department official said. AFP