A U.S. Navy destroyer fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman before American Marines boarded and took control of the vessel, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday.
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In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the cargo ship, named Touska, and ordered it to stop.
According to the president, the crew refused repeated warnings from the U.S. Navy. The destroyer then opened fire, striking the vessel’s engine room and disabling it.
“Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,” Trump wrote.
Naval interception in the Gulf of Oman
The incident occurred in the Gulf of Oman, a key maritime corridor linking the Persian Gulf to the wider Indian Ocean. The nearby Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping routes for oil and other goods.
Trump said the Touska had previously been placed under sanctions by the United States Department of the Treasury due to what he described as a history of illegal activities.
Later on Sunday, the United States Central Command released video footage showing a crew member aboard the Spruance issuing a radio warning to the ship. In the transmission, the sailor tells the vessel that U.S. forces were prepared to carry out disabling fire if it failed to comply.
Central Command said the Touska ignored repeated instructions over a six-hour period. The destroyer then fired several rounds from its five-inch deck gun into the vessel’s engine room after warning the crew to evacuate that section of the ship.
Escalation amid naval blockade
The seizure comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran. The United States has been enforcing a naval blockade on vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports since last week.
According to U.S. officials, the operation followed reports that Iranian forces had fired on commercial ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz earlier on Sunday.
The blockade and the latest interception mark a significant escalation in the ongoing confrontation between the two countries.
Diplomatic talks uncertain
Despite the rising tensions, U.S. officials had been preparing for another round of diplomatic discussions. American envoys led by Vice President JD Vance were expected to travel to Islamabad in Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iranian counterparts.
However, Iranian state media reported that Tehran had rejected the planned meeting. Iranian officials cited the U.S. naval blockade as a violation of a ceasefire agreement between the two countries.
In his post, Trump warned that the United States would escalate further if Iran did not accept Washington’s terms to end the conflict.
The United States Department of Defense referred questions about the operation to the White House. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 20 April 2026
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