April 19, 2026
The US Navy fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to bypass the US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, according to President Donald Trump, marking the latest escalation in tensions over the region’s waterways.
It came hours after Trump announced that US representatives are traveling to Islamabad, Pakistan, for negotiations with Iran. Tehran has not publicly confirmed it will send officials to the meetings, though Iranian sources told CNN a delegation will arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday.
The US military confirmed a US destroyer fired “several rounds” towards an Iranian-flagged ship that was attempting to violate its naval blockade.
In a statement released on Sunday, US Central Command said the USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian-flagged “Touska” as it traveled towards an Iranian port in violation of the blockade, detailing an event that was announced on social media earlier in the day by President Donald Trump.
“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.
It then “disabled Touska’s propulsion” by firing several rounds into the engine room, CENTCOM went on to say.
Since the start of the blockade, the US has “directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port,” the military added.