Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them Wednesday, in development that came a day after US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports.
The standoff between the US and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the strait—where 20 percent of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime—with no end in sight. Iranian media said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was bringing the two ships to Iran.
There have been more than 30 attacks on ships in West Asia since the US and Israel launched the war on 28 February with a surprise attack on Iran. Before then, the strait was open for all traffic.
Iran’s ability to restrict traffic through the strait—which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean—has proved a major strategic advantage
While the ceasefire means that American and Israeli airstrikes have stopped in Iran—and Tehran’s missiles no longer target Israel and the wider West Asia— the maritime standoff continues and could escalate further. Without any diplomatic agreement, the attacks will likely deter ships from even attempting to pass through the waterway, further squeezing global energy supplies.
West Asia war | Live updates
8.30 am: The seized ships
Iranian media said the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas were being escorted to Iran. The US had earlier seized two Iranian vessels as the ceasefire talks were due to take place in Pakistan.
Technomar, the management company behind the Liberian-registered Epaminondas, said it was “approached and fired upon by a manned gunboat” off the coast of Oman. It said the ship’s bridge had been damaged.
A second cargo ship came under fire hours later, with no report of damage, though the vessel was then stopped in the water. No injuries to the crew of either vessel were reported. The MSC Francesca’s owner could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become “stranded” on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported, without elaborating.
Iran's IRGC Navy has released footage of its forces seizing a pair of container ships in the Strait of Hormuz this morning. pic.twitter.com/hAbmTTe8DR
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 22, 2026
8.15 am: Evading US blockade?
Vortexa, an analytics firm focusing on global energy and freight markets, said it has recorded 34 movements of sanctioned and Iranian-linked tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf in the week after the US imposed its blockade on 13 April.
The firm identified 19 outbound and 15 inbound movements. Six of the outbound movements were “confirmed laden with Iranian crude, representing about 10.7 million barrels,” it said in an email. It was not immediately clear whether all those barrels reached markets overseas.
The US military denied that any such movements went past its blockade.
U.S. forces have directed 29 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the U.S. blockade against Iran.
Over past 24 hours, media reports have alleged that several commercial ships evaded the blockade, citing M/V Hero II, M/V Hedy, and M/V Dorena as examples. These… pic.twitter.com/SKelkSOr77
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 22, 2026
8.00 am: What Iran says on talks
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker who met US Vice-President J.D. Vance in Pakistan earlier this month, said a complete ceasefire “only makes sense” if not violated by the blockade that is “taking the world’s economy hostage”.
“Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such flagrant breach of the ceasefire,” he wrote on X.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state TV that Iran has not decided whether to take part in a new round of negotiations with the US scheduled for later this week. He accused the US of a “disregard and lack of good faith” in the negotiations.
Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, had earlier told The Associated Press that no delegation would go to Pakistan until the US lifts its blockade.