Washington D.C., United States of America — United States forces have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, the TOUSKA, after a high-seas interception on Sunday, April 19, 2026.
President Donald Trump announced the operation via Truth Social, stating that the USS Spruance, a guided-missile destroyer, intercepted the 900-foot vessel in the Gulf of Oman.
Okay News learned that the U.S. Navy opened fire on the ship’s engine room to disable it after the Iranian crew reportedly ignored warnings to stop and attempted to bypass the ongoing U.S. naval blockade.
The TOUSKA, which Trump described as weighing “almost as much as an aircraft carrier,” is currently in the custody of U.S. Marines. The vessel was already under U.S. Treasury sanctions due to a prior history of alleged illegal activity. U.S. officials are currently inspecting the cargo on board.
The incident marks a significant escalation in the Strait of Hormuz crisis, occurring just as U.S. negotiators—including Vice President JD Vance and Jared Kushner—head to Islamabad, Pakistan, for peace talks. Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, recently reaffirmed Tehran’s decision to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed as long as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports remains in place.
With a two-week ceasefire set to expire this Wednesday, April 22, Trump warned that failure to reach a deal in Pakistan could lead the U.S. to “knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran.”
The U.S. Navy has not yet released official footage of the engagement, but Truth Social remains the primary platform for the White House’s updates on the developing conflict.
