THE US Navy has fired upon and seized a sanctioned Iranian-flagged containership in the Gulf of Oman as it tried to enter the Strait of Hormuz, the first significant encounter in the week-old blockade.

US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, issued a statement saying that Touska (IMO: 9328900), a 2008-built panamax boxship beneficially owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines Company, failed for six hours to comply with warnings to stop.

The navy ordered the 4,900 teu vessel to evacuate its engine room before the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance fired several rounds to disable the ship.

US Marines then boarded the vessel and took control, Centcom said.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, US President Donald Trump said Touska had “tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them”.

Touska, which has been subject to US sanctions since 2020 related to Iran’s weapons programme, had departed the Chinese port of Zhuai on March 29 and arrived at Malaysia’s Port Klang on April 3.

Previous investigations published by the Washington Post have noted that sanctioned IRISL vessels including Touska have previously loaded from Zhuhai, which is among other things a loading port for chemicals including sodium perchlorate, a key precursor for solid rocket fuel that Iran uses as part of its missile programme.

Touska’s registered owner is Iranian company Mosakhar Darya Shipping Company PJS, but ultimately controlled by IRISL, a state-owned company under US, UK and European Union sanctions that has been described by the US State Department as the “preferred shipping line for Iranian proliferators and procurement agents”.

Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters vowed retaliation for the attack. “The US, the aggressor, violated the ceasefire and engaged in maritime piracy”, the military body said. “We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond to this act of armed maritime piracy and retaliate soon.”

Reports in Iranian media over the weekend suggest Iran is continuing to work on plans to potentially apply a toll to ships passing through the strait — although it remains unclear if such a move will be implemented.

Iran’s media carried reports stating that the parliament was working to pass a law to manage the Strait of Hormuz, including prohibiting ships affiliated with Israel and that ships from “hostile countries” would not be allowed to pass without permission from the Supreme National Security Council.

Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz was back to a standstill over the weekend after radio transmissions, heard by several owners with vessels in the area and confirmed as authentic by Lloyd’s List, warned the strait had gone back to “strict management and control by the [Iranian] armed forces”.

At least two Indian-flagged merchant ships, including the very large crude carrier Sanmar Herald (IMO: 9330563), were reportedly hit by gunfire as they attempted to transit the waterway.

US negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday with the intention of holding further talks on ending the war, Trump says — but Iranian state media cites unnamed officials as saying Tehran has “no plans for now to participate”.

“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,” Trump said in a social media post earlier on Sunday. “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!”