Iran fires on 2 ships in Strait of Hormuz after Trump extends ceasefire
President Donald Trump extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran until Tehran presents a "unified proposal" for talks in Pakistan. Initial talks scheduled for Wednesday have been cancelled.
Second ship reportedly fired upon near Iran
In what appears to be the second recent maritime incident in the region, a cargo ship has reportedly been fired upon near Iran, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre noted.
"UKMTO has received a report of an incident 8NM west of Iran. A master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel," the UKMTO warning notes.
A prior UKMTO notice had noted a report that a container ship was fired upon by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gun boat near Oman.
"UKMTO has received a report of an incident 15NM northeast of OMAN. The Master of a Container Ship reported that the vessel was approached by 1 IRGC gun boat, no VHF challenge that then fired upon the vessel which has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported. All Crew reported safe," the UKMTO warning stated.
Iran has taken custody of two ships after opening fire in Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media says
Iranian state media reports that Iranian forces have taken custody of two trade vessels in the Strait of Hormuz after opening fire on the ships Wednesday.
Reports say the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have taken custody over the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Liberia-flagged Epaminondas and are bringing them to Iran.
International ship tracking from Marine Traffic shows both vessels stationary off the coast of Iran in the strait.
News of Iran's assault on the vessels first came from the United Kingdom Maritime Operations, which reported an IRGC gunboat had caused significant damage to the bridge of one of the container ships.
New Iran ceasefire extension will be short, sources say
President Donald Trump's new ceasefire with Iran will be a short one, Fox News' Sean Hannity reported Tuesday night.
Hannity cited multiple unnamed sources who told him the ceasefire is expected to be brief.
The U.S. said the truce is expected to continue until Tehran presents a "unified proposal" for peace talks to continue in Pakistan.
Trump says Iran ‘collapsing financially’ amid Strait of Hormuz blockade
President Donald Trump said Iran is “collapsing financially” as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz continue to escalate.
“They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day,” Trump said. “Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!"
The comments echoed a similar post from Trump earlier Tuesday, when he said the Iranian regime is trying to “save face” over the closure of the strait.
“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed; they want it open so they can make $500 million a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!),” Trump wrote in the earlier post.
“They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to ‘save face,’” he added.
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