Trump: U.S. Navy Blasts, Seizes Iranian Ship
“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 Blockade.”
The Trump administration is claiming a major escalation at sea, saying a U.S. Navy destroyer disabled and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship after it allegedly attempted to run the ongoing naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
The development was first shared on Sunday in a post from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who tweeted a statement from President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account describing the encounter involving the sanctioned cargo vessel TOUSKA.
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) April 19, 2026
“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. The U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop. The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom. 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! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
The TOUSKA was not a random target. Shipping records tie the vessel to Iran’s state-linked shipping network, and U.S. authorities had flagged it under sanctions enforcement tracking prior to Sunday’s confrontation.
If confirmed, the incident would mark a clear shift from how the blockade has operated since it began earlier this month, when U.S. naval forces were focused on redirecting vessels rather than engaging them.
The Spruance had already been involved in at least one earlier encounter this week, redirecting an Iranian-flagged vessel that attempted to skirt the blockade along the Iranian coastline before the situation was resolved without incident. Officials have signaled for days that stricter enforcement was coming, and U.S. Marines have reportedly been training for maritime interdiction scenarios, including boarding operations and the seizure of sanctioned ships. Sunday may represent the first real test of that posture.
Sunday may represent the first real test of that posture.
Iran has not responded.
Update: 5:41 PM EST
CENTCOM has released footage of the interception of the TOUSKA
WATCH : U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has released footage showing the interception of the motor vessel Touska in the Northern Arabian Sea by USS Spruance (DDG-111).
According to CENTCOM, the destroyer issued repeated warnings over several hours before taking action after… pic.twitter.com/AmaiZeXAHs
— Inside the conflict (@InsidConflict) April 19, 2026
Update 6:35 PM EST
CENTCOM released a full press release:
“U.S. forces operating in the Arabian Sea enforced naval blockade measures against an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, April 19.
Guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at 17 knots enroute to Bandar Abbas, Iran. American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade.
After Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room. 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. Since the blockade’s commencement, U.S. forces have directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port.”
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
What a difference it makes when America doesn’t f88k about!
How exactly did the ship’s captain expect this to work?
Either they planned on being caught, or expected a force with surface, air, and satellite sureivlance tracking every ship in the area to not notice a giant cargo ship trunlding for open waters.
Or did he think he could outrun all the naval vessels and our aircraft?
More likely, the IRGC was threatening him and people he cared about because they needed money and were praying nobody would notice.
Sorry, IRGC, nobody is listening to your prayers.
A lumbering cargo ship isn’t gonna win a race with a high performance naval vessel. “Hey, Hamid, think we can win?”
.
It simply never ceases to amaze me how people try to apply Western knowledge to these prehistoric savages.
Their entire country has been under an internet blackout for months. And even before that, only ‘approved’ news sources were allowed.
The Captain likely simply had NO IDEA that the US was in total control of the Strait, and had no authority to turn around or surrender, so once reality sunk in, he was… sunk.
You don’t think a ship’s captain is keeping up with what’s going on in the strait he’s navigating? Yeah… that didn’t happen.
After past U.S. (and Western) actions, the ship’s captain thought that he could just keep going and nothing would happen. He applied the FAFO rule and lost.
You seem to be the only one making the obvious—and correct— point. Thanks.
Remember the Iranian airliner flying toward US warships… ships requesting ID…. they came on and the warship shot them down. They willfully flew their civilian passenger in harm’s way and all perished. Of course, the US and the captain were blamed rather than shoving their misdeeds back at them. Same here in some respects. When life means nothing…. as witnessed by the thousands murdered in the last few months…. nothing stops them but death. We are back in the South Pacific WWII or Korea… or Vietnam with an enemy who wants to win at ANY and ALL cost. Oblige them… it is the only way.
“How exactly did the ship’s captain expect this to work?”
“Oh, what’s that– a gun? So ya gonna shoot me? Are ya? You gonna shoot me?”
I suspect the Captain knew it wouldn’t work but the IRGC had his family and the families of all the other sailors being held hostage.
You’re missing another possibility: He thought that it was an empty threat. He’s not commanding a military ship. He’s not a danger to anyone. The US military makes it a point to avoid attacking civilians. There’s a possibility that he figured that even in war, the US Navy was not going to shoot at a civilian vessel.
A little over 240 years ago (March 1786), John Adams and Thomas Jefferson travelled to London to negotiate an end to the attacks on American ships (by the “Barbary Pirates”) with the Barbary States envoy Sidi Haj Abdulrahman.
Here is a verbatim excerpt from their letter to John Jay who was serving as the Secretary for Foreign Affairs under the Continental Congress about the meetings. In that position John Jay was essentially the predecessor of the modern U.S. Secretary of State
“We took the liberty to make some inquiries concerning the Grounds of their pretentions to make war upon Nations who had done them no Injury, and observed that we considered all mankind as our friends who had done us no wrong, nor had given us any provocation.
When they asked him why they attacked innocent countries that had done them no harm, “The Ambassador answered us that it was founded on the Laws of the Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have answered their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners; and that every Mussulman [sic] who was slain in battle was sure to go to paradise.”
That it was a law that the first who boarded an Enemy’s Vessell should have one slave, more than his share with the rest, which operated as an incentive to the most desperate Valour and Enterprise, that it was the Practice of their Corsairs to bear down upon a ship, for each sailor to take a dagger in each hand and another in his mouth, and leap on board, which so terrified their Enemies that very few ever stood against them, that he verily believed the Devil assisted his Countrymen, for they were almost always successful. We took time to consider and promised an answer, but we can give him no other, than that the demands exceed our Expectations, and that of Congress, so much that we can proceed no further without fresh instructions.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
So they have always been savages and lunatics.
.
Some good came out of that. They came home and founded the Marines and later went back with a few ships full of marines and kicked some ass.
Exactly. That would be the origin of “…The shores of Tripoli.”
Indeed, and they want to continue to be savages and lunatics that can still marry 10 or 11 year old girls, stone women to death on “suspicion” of anything and assassinate anyone who defies their “authority”, aka, their own citizens. They do not care about their civilians, they only care about DEATH TO AMERICA, which is taught to them from their formative years. Any ex-pat from their country that values their freedom here will tell you that. But the left refuses to see it and actually thinks they can “talk” their way out of this. Past presidents found that not to be the case. Obama gave them 400 million our OUR US dollars on a pallet and said it was a gift from HIM. Many of you may not remember that, but I sure do. Obama emboldened them and gave them the funds to continue this assault on humanity, but they are the ones who need to be stopped.
thanks
Just what did they think would happen after Trump has shown the world repeatedly that he doesn’t bluff?
Good grief, these people are stupid.
.
They are not stupid at all.
They are Islamic fundamentalists (like Hamas)
Suicide is their strategy
^^^this exactly^^^
and b/c of thatttt fact
they cant/wont be defeated in a manner normally acceptable to logical thinkers
therefor they have to be made non existent
and we saw the blowback on that thinking be it from ww2>>hiroshima to trumps statement of last week or so
the msm will not allow the courts will not allow the usa to win it correctly
so either trump says fu and nukes the region or we get this continued
“victory by suicide” that the left employees
The ship needed a cloaking device.
It could be Iranians are stupid and suicidal. Maybe. I think also that they are also essentially children throwing a tantrum. It has worked from them for 50 years. It will be difficult for them to come to terms with the reality that their nonsense games are over.
It could also be that the leftist in this country are in communication with the IRGC and are telling them to run the clock.
Sure. One issue may be that they’re gonna need wind up/mechanical clocks when the power plants get blown to smithereens. Might get thirsty/hungry when the dams, water treatment plants and irrigation systems get taken out. Sitting in the dark, hungry and thirsty without any climate control might become unpleasant waiting on Jan ’29.
as obama stated to our sworn enemies the ussr
wait until after the elections then we’ll take care of our business together regarding iran and nukes etc
“Hey, Pahjeet. What’s that sign say?”
“It say, ‘No U-turn.'”
“U-turn here!, Pahjeet.”
Same energy.
It was a waste of valuable time to spend hours warning the captain or whoever was in the engine room. 3 warnings to stop over a 30 minute period then shoot to disable.
I just wish the US recreated prize courts for the sailors and marines who took the ship for America
In the spirit of the Gulf of America, Trump should rename the Strait of Hormuz to the Strait of Schrödinger. It’s both open and closed at the same time… but as this captain found out, only until you’re observed.
It’s the Straight of America now 🤣😁
Now that is funny right there, I don’t care who you are.
It’s about sending a message, and a 5″ shell into the engine compartment is one heck of a message.
Now comes the fun part: Towing this ship to a port and unloading the cargo, seeing exactly what the Iranian regime was so hot to scoot past the blockade. Any bets on exactly what they find?
1980 playboy mags
They need hard currency. So it will be something that they can export in bulk. Most likely agricultural products and some knock-off consumer goods. Refrigerators, ovens, rugs, lamps.
It probably won’t be weapons, drugs, or vehicles. But I may be surprised.
Kill em all! Be done with these pirates!
They’re not pirates. They’re smugglers.
The ship boarded by US Marines “was up to no good. The Touska was traveling from CHINA. The Washington Post says it was loaded with dual-use chemicals used to manufacture ballistic missiles.”