Iran Issues Warning of Imminent Retaliation Following US Seizure of Iranian Cargo Ship

In a recent development, Iran has issued a stern warning to the United States, announcing its intention to ‘soon retaliate’ following the US Navy’s seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. This incident has escalated tensions between the two nations, with Iran condemning the action as a breach of the ongoing two-week ceasefire agreement and labeling it as ‘maritime and armed robbery.’

The situation intensified after Iran reportedly turned down an invitation for a second round of peace discussions. This rejection came on the heels of President Donald Trump’s announcement of upcoming negotiations scheduled for Monday. The Iranian government, however, cited the US’s ‘excessive demands’ as a primary reason for its decision to abstain from the talks, as conveyed by the state-run IRNA news agency.

According to the IRNA, Iran attributed its absence from the negotiation table to a combination of factors, including Washington’s ‘excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade’ of the Strait of Hormuz. These grievances underscore the complexity and challenges in reaching a diplomatic resolution between the two countries.

Tehran accused the US of ‘excessive demands’ and blamed its ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz for its absence, according to Iran’s state IRNA news agency.

It blamed ‘Washington’s excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade’ for its refusal to negotiate, the agency reported.

It comes just a day before US Vice President JD Vance was due to arrive in Pakistan for peace talks as a fragile two-week ceasefire continues.

Iran has warned the US it will ‘soon retaliate’ after the US Navy seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz

After Touska’s crew failed to comply with warnings over a six-hour period, the Spruance fired several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room

The president touted the attack via Truth Social on Sunday afternoon, ahead of peace talks between negotiators from the US and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday

Iran’s Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters confirmed the attack by the US military on a ship in the Sea of Oman in a statement carried by the Tasnim News Agency.

‘The aggressive America, by violating the ceasefire and committing maritime piracy, attacked one of Iran’s commercial ships in the waters of the Sea of Oman by firing upon it and disabling its navigation system by deploying several of its terrorist marines on the deck of the mentioned vessel,’ it said, confirming that the ship had been seized.

‘We warn that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military,’ it added.

Iran’s top diplomat has told his Pakistani counterpart that Washington’s demands in negotiations and its threats to Iranian ships and ports mark ‘clear signs’ of America’s disingenuousness.

Abbas Aragchi made the remarks in a phone call to Pakistan´s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, according to Iranian state media.

It´s another indication of how the Washington-Tehran standoff is sharpening as the ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday. 

It could also shake up plans for a new US-Iran round of talks in Islamabad this week.

The Iranian military headquarters said the attack and subsequent boarding of the Iranian vessel by US forces was a violation of the ceasefire and an act of ‘maritime piracy,’ according to Iran’s state-run broadcaster.

American troops have blown a hole through an Iranian cargo ship after it attempted to pass through the US blockade of the country’s coastline, according to Donald Trump 

Sailors and Marines are seen aboard the landing ship USS Rushmore 

US Central Command posts about the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. Sailors and Marines aboard dock landing ship USS Rushmore conduct blockade operations in the Arabian Sea

A tanker sits anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, on Saturday

The United States says it fired on the ship and seized it because it had crossed the blockade line after ignoring multiple warnings.

US Central Command released a message sent by a US Mariner to the Iranian-flagged tanker in a video posted on X, saying it shows the moments before the U.S. seized Touska for crossing the U.S.-imposed blockade line in the Gulf of Oman.

‘Motor vessel Touska, Motor vessel Touska. Vacate your engine room. Vacate your engine room. We are about to subject you to disabling fire,’ can be heard in the video. Later, three rounds are fired, leaving smoke in their wake.

CENTCOM said its fire targeted the vessel´s engine room before forces seized the ship. It said Touska was headed to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and ignored multiple US warnings over six hours to evacuate the engine room. 

The USS Spruance then fired, after which Marines boarded and took hold of the ship.

‘American forces acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner to ensure compliance,’ it wrote on X.

Trump said on Truth Social on Sunday that Iran had ‘fired bullets’ in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that ‘many of them were aimed at a French ship and a freighter from the United Kingdom.’

This handout photo released by US Central Command shows AH-64 Apaches flying above the Strait of Hormuz during a patrol on Friday

A police officer stands guard at a checkpoint on a barricaded road to ensure security ahead of the second round of the U.S. Iran officials talks, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Sunday

The US was preparing for a second round of in-person talks with Iran as a fragile ceasefire runs out in days. Vice President JD Vance and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are seen together earlier this month in Pakistan

The president said the ship was warned by a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman to stop but it did not.

‘Our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room,’ Trump explained.

He said US Marines had custody of the cargo ship and were ‘seeing what’s on board!’

The seizure escalates a back-and-forth with Iran over traffic in the strait and comes as the US was preparing for a second round of in-person talks with Iran as a fragile ceasefire runs out in days.

This is a breaking story – more follows…