Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Wednesday it had seized two cargo ships near the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran asserted control over the strategic waterway a day after President Trump extended a cease-fire with Iran but maintained a blockade on the country’s ports.
Both ships came under fire before they were seized, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a naval agency. One of them, the Epaminondas, had been transiting the strait about 23 miles off of Oman’s coast when a crewed gunboat approached and fired on it about 6:50 a.m. local time, according to Technomar Shipping, a Greek company that manages the Liberian-flagged ship.
The crew members were “safe and accounted for,” and there were no reports of injuries, the company said. Greece’s foreign minister, Giorgos Gerapetritis, told CNN that the ship had “extremely wide damage.”
MSC, a global shipping company that owns the other seized ship, the MSC Francesca, did not respond to a request for comment on that vessel, which was flying a Panamanian flag and bound for Sri Lanka.
The Revolutionary Guards’ Navy said the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas had tried to pass through the strait “without the necessary permits” and were being directed toward Iran’s coast. “Disrupting the order and security of the Strait of Hormuz is our red line,” the Guards said in a statement carried by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.
Location data from the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, transmitted on Wednesday afternoon, suggested they were anchored about eight miles off the Iranian coast, said Daniel Mueller, a senior analyst at the maritime intelligence firm Ambrey, which could indicate that they were under Iranian control. He said the ships had been intercepted leaving the strait, suggesting that the Iranian authorities had allowed them to enter, most likely the night before.
The seizures reflected rising naval tensions between the United States and Iran, amid uncertainty over diplomatic talks attempting to find an end to the war.
On Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters that Mr. Trump had not set a firm deadline for the end of the cease-fire but was offering the Iranians “a little bit of flexibility because we want to see a unified proposal” to resolve the conflict.
Asked whether Iran’s seizure of the ships had violated the cease-fire, Ms. Leavitt said on Fox News that it did not.
“No, because these were not U.S. ships,” Ms. Leavitt said. “These were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels.”
On Sunday, U.S. forces seized an Iranian-flagged vessel in the Arabian Sea that Mr. Trump said had tried to evade the U.S. military’s blockade. On Tuesday, U.S. forces stopped and boarded a tanker in the Indian Ocean that was carrying Iranian oil that was under sanctions, the Pentagon said.
A third cargo ship, the Euphoria, also appeared to have had a close brush with Iranian forces on Wednesday, with tracking data showing it stopping multiple times and changing directions abruptly, before passing through the strait. Several Iranian news outlets reported that the Guards had fired on the Euphoria.
The Euphoria had been sailing close to Larak Island, which Iran has established as a route for approved vessels to navigate the strait, and later sailed into the Gulf of Oman, according to Kpler, a maritime tracking firm. The condition of the vessel was not known.
The Strait of Hormuz, which is normally a conduit for one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and a significant share of its natural gas, remains a high-risk area for shipping companies, as the future of U.S.-Iran negotiations continues to be unclear.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said he was extending the cease-fire with Iran, hours before it was set to expire. Vice President JD Vance had postponed a trip to Pakistan for a second round of talks with Iranian leaders. Mr. Trump said the truce would remain in place until Iran’s “proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”
Pakistani officials remained optimistic on Wednesday that they could still bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table.
“The cease-fire has opened a space that Pakistan thinks is enough for the diplomatic path to resume,” said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States and Britain who has been briefed on diplomatic efforts. “Neither side has rejected talks.”
Iranian officials have indicated that they remain open to talks but are incensed by what they describe as the Trump administration’s shifting positions and the American blockade of Iranian ports.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so,” Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on social media on Wednesday. “Breach of commitments, blockade and threats are main obstacles to genuine negotiations.”
Arsenio Dominguez, the secretary general of the International Maritime Organization, which is part of the United Nations, condemned the attacks on and seizures of commercial ships as “unacceptable,” and called for the release of any detained sailors.
“The situation in the region remains extremely volatile,” he said in a statement. “I cannot understand why companies would take risks and endanger seafarers’ lives.”
In London, European military leaders were meeting on Wednesday to discuss how to reopen the strait to global shipping companies. But their plans do not involve immediate military action.
Instead, Britain and France were hosting officials from more than 30 countries to “advance military plans to reopen the strait, as soon as conditions permit, following a sustainable cease-fire agreement,” according to Britain’s defense minister.
Reporting was contributed by Elian Peltier, Sanam Mahoozi, Max Bearak and Francesca Regalado.
Lynsey Chutel is a Times reporter based in London who covers breaking news in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
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