President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States attacked an Iranian-flagged vessel attempting to navigate past Washington’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first time military force has been used in such a manner.
Trump said the Marines have custody of the ship after the Navy stopped the vessel “by blowing a hole in the engine room.”
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“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,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“The U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop,” he continued. “The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room. 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!”
U.S. Central Command gave a few more details about the attack shortly after Trump’s announcement.
“After Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “Spruance disabled Touska’s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room. U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the non-compliant vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.”
“American forces acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner to ensure compliance,” it added.
The attack was immediately seen by Tehran as escalatory, and state media suggested the second round of peace talks in Pakistan was now off.
Trump had said earlier on Sunday that U.S. negotiators would be in Islamabad for the talks tomorrow evening.
The attack and seizure in the Gulf of Oman comes days after the U.S. began a blockade both in the Strait of Hormuz and from all Iranian ports.
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Before Sunday, U.S. forces had sent over 20 vessels back to Iran without incident.
But Iran’s military had recently been taking escalatory action. After declaring the strait closed, they attacked at least two merchant vessels on Saturday.
