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The United States Navy disabled and boarded an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday after its crew refused repeated orders to halt, in what marks the first known use of force against a vessel during the American naval blockade of Iran. President Donald Trump announced the incident in a post on Truth Social, saying U.S. Marines now have full custody of the ship and are examining its contents.
The vessel, the Touska, is a container ship nearly 900 feet long, roughly comparable in displacement to a naval aircraft carrier. According to Trump, the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the Touska and issued warnings that the Iranian crew ignored. "The Iranian crew refused to listen," Trump wrote, "so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room." He confirmed that U.S. Marines have taken custody of the ship and that an inspection of its cargo is underway.
The Touska is listed on the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals list and is linked to Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, the state-controlled Iranian fleet that Washington has long accused of transporting materials related to Iran's ballistic missile and military programs. Trump cited the ship's prior record of illegal activity as the basis for the Treasury designation, though his post did not specify what cargo, if any, is suspected to be on board.
The Arleigh Burke-class USS Spruance, hull number DDG-111, is based in San Diego and has been operating as part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the Arabian Sea. The destroyer had previously been involved in blockade enforcement earlier this month, when it redirected a different Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that had attempted to evade restrictions after leaving the port of Bandar Abbas.
The naval blockade, which the United States began enforcing earlier this month following a breakdown in nuclear talks with Tehran, covers all Iranian ports along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. U.S. Central Command said as recently as Saturday that 23 vessels have been turned around since enforcement began, with forces describing the operation as proceeding without any successful breaches, a claim disputed by some independent ship-tracking analysts. The blockade is being enforced by more than a dozen U.S. Navy ships and over 100 aircraft, according to U.S. officials.
Iran, meanwhile, rejected a second round of peace talks on Sunday, with state media citing what it described as Washington's unrealistic expectations, shifting positions and the blockade itself as conditions incompatible with resumed negotiations. Trump has said the blockade will remain in place until a final agreement is reached.
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