Iran seizes two cargo ships as peace talks with US collapse
DUBAI, April 24 — Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday with a video of commandos in a speedboat storming a huge cargo ship, after the collapse of peace talks that Washington had hoped would open one of the world’s most important shipping corridors.
US President Donald Trump dismissed the threat posed by Iran’s “little wise-guy ships” and told reporters that he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal but that its leadership was in turmoil. Trump added that he was in no hurry for a deal, but if Iran did not want one, “I’ll finish it up militarily.”
Iranian state television broadcast video overnight of masked troops pulling up in a grey speedboat alongside the MSC Francesca, climbing a rope ladder to a door in the hull and jumping through, brandishing rifles. The video, presented with an action-movie-style soundtrack and no commentary, included views of another ship, the Epaminondas. Iran said it had captured both on Wednesday, accusing them of trying to cross the strait without permits.
The Iranian boat seizure was a reminder that the United States, despite its more powerful military, struggles to keep control of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump and his military officials have said Iran’s navy is “at the bottom of the sea,” but Tehran has shown it can still cause major problems for oil markets.
Before the war, one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas was shipped through the strait. Major surveys showed on Thursday that the global economy is facing ever more tangible strains from the energy shock of the war, as factories grapple with soaring production costs and activity weakens even in the services sector.
The war, launched by the US and Israel on February 28, has been paused since a ceasefire on April 8. The US and Iran met in Pakistan on April 11 and 12 in an attempt to end hostilities, but talks ended without agreement and a second round has yet to take place.
Tehran says it will not consider opening the strait until the US lifts its blockade of Iran’s shipping, which Washington imposed during the ceasefire and Tehran calls a violation of that truce. Iran has also called Israeli strikes on Lebanon, where Israel has been engaged with the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, an obstacle to renewed peace talks.
Israel and Lebanon on Thursday agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks after a high-level meeting between representatives of both countries in the White House Oval Office, Trump announced on social media. “I look forward in the near future to hosting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun. It was a Great Honour to be a participant at this very Historic Meeting!” Trump said.
It was unclear, however, how much influence the Lebanese government might exert over Hezbollah. Before that announcement, Israel warned on Thursday that it was ready to restart attacks on Iran. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel was waiting for a “green light” from the US to resume the war, saying that if it did, it would begin by targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and “return Iran to a dark age.”
Struggle for the strait
Trump said this week he would indefinitely extend what had been a two-week ceasefire with Iran to allow for further peace talks, but on Thursday he said he had ordered the Navy to “shoot and kill” Iranian boats laying mines in the strait, and to step up demining activity.
In a social media post, he said Washington was in “total control” of the strait, which he described as “’Sealed up Tight,’ until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!!”
Later at the White House, Trump said Iran might have loaded up its weaponry “a little bit” during the ceasefire, but the US military could knock that out in about one day. “Don’t rush me,” he said when asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal. “I want to make the best deal. I could make a deal right now… but I don’t want to do that. I want to have it everlasting.”
Trump, who has used provocative language threatening to obliterate Iran and end its civilisation, ruled out the use of nuclear weapons, telling reporters they were unnecessary because the US had “decimated” Iran with conventional arms. “No, I wouldn’t use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody,” Trump said.
Iranian officials cited in state media dismissed claims by Trump of divisions in Iran’s leadership, and Khamenei said in a post on X that “enemy” media operations were aiming to undermine unity and national security.
Washington, which has been confronting Iranian ships in international waters to enforce its blockade, said it had boarded another tanker, the Majestic, in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, an apparent reference to a supertanker last reported off the coast of Sri Lanka carrying 2 million barrels of crude. The US military said on Thursday that US forces had redirected 33 vessels since the blockade began.
