Iran says US seized its vessel, vows 'soon' retaliation for 'maritime piracy'

Iran confirmed early Monday that US forces seized an Iranian vessel and warned that it would retaliate "soon." According to Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency, the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said US forces targeted the vessel, disabled its navigation system and boarded it after what it described as a ceasefire violation.

Iranian account

Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said US forces opened fire at the vessel before boarding it. "The aggressive United States, by violating the ceasefire and engaging in maritime piracy, attacked one of Iran's vessels after disabling its navigation system," Zolfaghari said. He added that US forces boarded the vessel after deploying "a number of terrorist marines" onto it. "We warn that Iran's military forces will soon respond to and retaliate against this armed act of piracy by the US military," he said.

Trump's version

Earlier Sunday, US President Donald Trump said the US had intercepted an Iranian-flagged cargo ship as part of what he described as a naval blockade. Writing on Truth Social, Trump said: "Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA…tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them." He added that the vessel ignored US warnings to stop, saying a US Navy ship "stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room."

Ceasefire context

The incident occurred amid a two-week US-Iran ceasefire mediated by Pakistan, which is set to expire on April 22. US forces have maintained a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, with CENTCOM previously reporting that 21 vessels had been turned back. President Trump has warned that the blockade will remain until a peace deal is signed.