by WorldTribune Staff, April 19, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
Iran apparently is intent on testing the word of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to implement a targeted blockade of all Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, rather than closing the entire Strait of Hormuz to international traffic. The primary goal was to halt Iran's ability to sell oil and prevent ships from paying tolls to Iran for safe passage through the waterway.
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President Donald Trump said the U.S. seized the Iranian-flagged Touska on Sunday.[/caption]
On Sunday, Trump said an Iranian-flagged ship attempted to evade the blockade. He said it didn't end well for that ship.
Trump posted to Truth Social:
"Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them. The U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop. The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom.
"Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel. The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board! President DONALD J. TRUMP".
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported on Saturday that the U.S. military "is preparing in coming days to board Iran-linked oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters."
Iran on Saturday attacked several commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, declaring that the waterway was being “strictly controlled” by the Islamic Republic. On Friday, Iran’s foreign minister had claimed the strait was fully open to commercial traffic.
Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social:
"Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement! Many of them were aimed at a French Ship, and a Freighter from the United Kingdom. That wasn’t nice, was it?
"My Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan — They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations. Iran recently announced that they were closing the Strait, which is strange, because our BLOCKADE has already closed it. They’re helping us without knowing, and they are the ones that lose with the closed passage, $500 Million Dollars a day! The United States loses nothing.
"In fact, many Ships are headed, right now, to the U.S., Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska, to load up, compliments of the IRGC, always wanting to be 'the tough guy!' We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY! They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years. IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END! President DONALD J. TRUMP".
The Wall Street Journal
report U.S. said the U.S. naval blockade had already turned back 23 ships that sought to leave Iranian ports, according to U.S. Central Command.
The U.S. “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran,” Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday. “This includes dark fleet vessels carrying Iranian oil. As most of you know, dark fleet vessels are those illicit or illegal ships evading international regulations, sanctions or insurance requirements.”
The move, which Caine said would be carried out in part by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, will implement a new phase of the U.S. pressure campaign against Teheran, which Trump administration officials have dubbed Economic Fury.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that U.S. forces were “maximally postured” to resume military operations if talks fail.
Most of Iran’s roughly 1.6 million barrels a day of crude exports are bound for China and bought up by small, independent “teapot” refineries. Though China spent months shoring up its supply to head off shocks from the conflict, Caine’s remark served as a warning to Beijing, the Journal cited a U.S. official as saying.
The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it was expanding its list of sanctioned vessels, companies and individuals to intensify pressure on Iran’s illicit oil trade.
The newly sanctioned ships and companies are controlled by oil shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He is the son of Ali Shamkhani, who was a top security adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed along with the Iranian leader in the Israeli airstrike in late February that kicked off the war.
That adds to hundreds of Iranian-linked vessels that have already been sanctioned by the Trump Administration and now could be targets for boarding. Additionally, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has pledged to prosecute anyone who buys or sells sanctioned Iranian oil.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, told the Journal this week that it was working to go after sanctioned and hostile networks supporting the Iranian regime. Her office’s Threat Finance Unit played a key role in submitting seizure warrants for vessels during Trump’s crackdown on ships serving Venezuela.
Earlier this year, the U.S. military showcased its ability to track down tankers anywhere in the world, interdicting vessels connected to Venezuela in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The Defense Department worked closely with the Justice Department and law-enforcement authorities like the U.S. Coast Guard to seize vessels that had run afoul of U.S. sanctions and laws.
Mark Nevitt, associate professor of law at Emory University Law School, said that the Trump Administration appears to be involved in three actions at sea: the blockade near Iran, the potential seizure of dark fleet vessels in other parts of the world, and an effort to crack down on contraband, such as missile parts.
“It’s a maximalist approach. If you want to put the screws down on Iran, you want to use every single legal authority you have to do that,” Nevitt said.
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