Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, tightening its grip on the strategic waterway after President Donald Trump called off attacks indefinitely with no sign of peace talks restarting.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said the Revolutionary Guards had seized two vessels for maritime violations and escorted them to Iranian shores. It was the first time Iran has seized ships since the beginning of the war.
Earlier, a British maritime security agency reported three ships had come under fire.
Trump said in a statement on social media late on Tuesday that the U.S. had agreed to a request by Pakistani mediators “to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal … and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
But even as he announced what appeared to be a unilateral ceasefire extension, Trump also said he would continue the U.S. Navy’s blockade of Iran’s trade by sea. The United States fired on and seized an Iranian cargo vessel on Saturday and boarded a huge Iranian oil tanker on yesterday in the Indian Ocean.
Iran considers the U.S. blockade an act of war and has said it will not lift its closure of the strait, which has caused a global energy crisis, as long as the U.S. blockade continues.
Pakistan, acting as mediator, had cleared out a luxury hotel in the capital Islamabad for last-ditch peace talks on Tuesday, in the hopes of reaching a deal in the final hours before a two-week-old ceasefire expired.
But Iran never confirmed it would attend and a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance never departed Washington, leaving an apparent stalemate in the nearly two-month war with no clear solution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
There was no response early on Wednesday to Trump’s ceasefire announcement from senior Iranian officials, although some initial reactions from Tehran suggested Trump’s comments were being treated skeptically.
Tasnim said Iran had not asked for a ceasefire extension and repeated threats to break the U.S. blockade by force.
An adviser to Iran’s lead negotiator, the speaker of parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Trump’s announcement might be a ploy. – Reuters
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