Get you up to speed: Iran warns of imminent retaliation after US Marines seize cargo ship M/V Touska
U.S. Marines from the USS Tripoli seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska during a six-hour standoff in the Gulf of Oman. The USS Spruance fired several rounds and disabled Touska’s propulsion before the boarding operation commenced.
Iran has indicated that it will “soon retaliate” following the US Marine Corps’ seizure of the M/V Touska, as stated by the Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya military chiefs. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) noted that the M/V Touska “failed to comply with repeated warnings” prior to its boarding.
Iran’s top military command has stated that its Armed Forces will “soon respond to and retaliate against” the US military’s actions involving the M/V Touska. The ship is currently located off the coast of the port city of Beris.
Iran warns it will ‘soon retaliate’ after US forces seize tanker near Strait of Hormuz | News World
Iran has warned it will ‘soon retaliate’ after the US Marine seized one of its ships along the Strait of Hormuz.
The country’s top military command said the US has violated the eleventh-hour two-week ceasefire by firing at the M/V Touska.
Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya chiefs said: ‘Aggressor America, violating the ceasefire and engaging in maritime piracy, fired upon one of Iran’s commercial ships in the waters of the Sea of Oman and disabled its navigation system.
‘They further assaulted the vessel by landing a number of their terrorist riflemen onto the deck of the mentioned vessel.’
The statement shared by the Iranian Mehr News Agency added: ‘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.’
A helicopter ahead of an operation to board and seize the Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska (Picture: Reuters)
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Marines from the USS Tripoli seized the cargo ship yesterday during a six-hour standoff in the Gulf of Oman.
The USS Spruance, a guided missile destroyer, intercepted the tanker as it tried to sail towards the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
Iranian ports are currently under a US blockade, a policy in response to Iran’s saying that ships passing through the Strait would need to pay a toll.
The Spruance fired several rounds into the area and boarded the ship after telling the Touska crew to evacuate the engine room.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the M/V Touska had ‘failed to comply with repeated warnings’.
CENTCOM said Marines departed the Tripoli assault ship by helicopter and rappelled (descended by rope) and ‘disabled Touska’s propulsion’.
U.S. Marines depart amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) by helicopter and transit over the Arabian Sea to board and seize M/V Touska. The Marines rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel, April 19, after guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) disabled Touska’s… pic.twitter.com/mFxI5RzYCS
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 20, 2026
Donald Trump added in a Truth Social post: ‘The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom.’
Iranian media reported that ‘aggressive’ American forces ‘opened fire on an Iranian merchant ship to force it to return to Iranian territorial waters’.
The ship is currently off the coast of the port city of Beris, according to the monitoring website MarineTraffic.
It comes after Tehran rejected taking part in a second round of peace talks as the US President threatened to flatten Iran’s civilian infrastructure.
Iran’s official state news agency, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), reported that Iran would not be taking part in the ongoing peace talks.
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