Tehran, April 22 (ANI) — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its naval forces seized two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, alleging the ships violated Iranian territorial waters and tried to leave the waterway without authorization. Iranian state media IRIB identified the vessels as MSC-FRANCESCA and EPAMINODES and accused them of repeated violations, including tampering with navigational aids and endangering maritime safety.
According to the IRGC, the ships were detected via intelligence monitoring, intercepted and escorted into Iranian territorial waters, then transferred for inspection of cargo and documentation. An IRIB-quoted statement said the IRGC Navy had identified the two “violating” ships during routine control of the strait and said it will continue to monitor the area and respond “decisively and legally” to breaches of Iran’s maritime rules.
The announcement came hours after US President Donald Trump said he was extending a temporary ceasefire indefinitely. Trump said the extension followed a Pakistani request and was intended to give Iran’s “fractured” leadership time to present a unified peace proposal.
The seizures were reported alongside separate security incidents flagged by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) earlier the same day. UKMTO said an outbound cargo vessel was fired upon about eight nautical miles off Iran’s coast, forcing the ship to stop; the crew were reported safe and no damage was observed. In a second incident, a container ship northeast of Oman was approached by an armed boat linked to the IRGC; the ship’s master reportedly opened fire and the vessel’s bridge sustained significant damage. UKMTO said all crew were confirmed safe and there were no casualties or environmental damage.
Iranian officials have framed the actions as a response to what they call a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, a measure Tehran has described as tantamount to bombardment and one that, Iranian authorities say, has contributed to the heightened military activity in the Strait of Hormuz.
(This report is sourced from a syndicated feed and published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.)
