Armenpress: US seizes Iranian cargo ship, Tehran vows to retaliate

Concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the U.S. said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to ‌run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate, Reuters reported.

The US president wrote on his Truth Social platform that the ship, called Touska, was seized by the US Navy after failing to respond to a warning to stop. Iran said it was a violation of the ceasefire and it would retaliate soon for the “act of armed piracy”.

The U.S. has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has lifted and then reimposed its own blockade on marine traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. military said it fired on the Iranian-flagged cargo ship headed towards Iran’s Bandar Abbas port on Sunday after a six-hour standoff, disabling its engines. The ship was reportedly intercepted in the waters of the Sea of Oman.

U.S. marines then rappelled from helicopters onto the vessel, U.S. Central Command said.

“We have ⁠full custody of their ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” President Trump wrote on social media.

Iran’s military said the ship had been traveling from China. “We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the U.S. military,” Reuters quoted an Iranian military spokesperson as saying.

Iranian state media reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade, threatening rhetoric, and Washington’s shifting positions and “excessive demands.”

Trump earlier warned Iran that the U.S. would destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran if Tehran rejected his terms, continuing a recent pattern of such threats.

Iran has said that if the United States were to attack its civilian infrastructure it would hit power stations and desalination plants of Gulf Arab ‌neighbors.