The US Central Command on Monday shared a clip showing a US warship in the Persian Gulf communicating with a vessel and directing them to comply with the military blockade of Iranian ports imposed by Washington. The US said that forces have directed 27 vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port ever since the blockade began.
“This is US warship 115 entering area of a military blockade,” a personnel could be heard saying in the clip as a vessel was seen in the front. The personnel was heard saying that any vessel, regardless of its flag, would be subject to a search and visit if it tried to enter or exit an Iranian port.
“If you attempt to run the blockade, we will compel compliance of force. Over,” the clip ended.
Iranian-flagged vessel seized by US
While the US CENTCOM didn’t specify which vessel was being shown in the clip, the X post was made hours after US President Donald Trump announced that an Iranian-flagged vessel was intercepted and seized in the Gulf of Oman after it tried to get past the US blockade.
The US CENTCOM earlier shared a clip of the US Marines boarding and seizing the Iranian-flagged vessel, M/V Touska over failing to adhere to “repeated warnings”.
The USS Spruance, a guided missile destroyer gave the vessel a “fair warning” to stop but when the Iranian crew didn’t listen, the ship stopped them by “blowing a hole in the engine room, Trump said on Sunday.
The container ship, Touska, was reportedly part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) group, which had been sanctioned by the US back in 2019.
After the US seized the ship, Iran vowed retaliation and accused Washington of “armed piracy”. According to Bloomberg report, Iran’s military said the ship had been travelling from China.
They said they were ready to confront US forces over the “blatant aggression”, but were constrained by the presence of crew members’ families on board.
Blockade near Strait of Hormuz
The US naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz remains a big sticking point in the ongoing negotiations between both sides. Iran, which recently announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, was quick to turn back on the decision over the naval blockade.
However, Donald Trump remains firm on the military move and in his fresh remarks on Monday said that the blockade would continue until a deal is finalised, for which he is “under no pressure”.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key chokepoint for the transportation of 20% of the world’s crude and has been seeing disruptions ever since the US-Iran war began in February. The next round of talks in expected in Islamabad this week and the two-week ceasefire announced on April 7 is due to end on Wednesday.
