Tehran has attacked US military ships in the Gulf of Oman with drones, according to a report by the semi-official news agency Tasnim.
The attack was apparently in retaliation against the US Navy’s raid on an Iranian tanker that tried to breach the American blockade on Sunday.
‘Iranian forces launched drone strikes on US military vessels in the Gulf of Oman after American terrorists attacked an Iranian container ship, the Toska, en route from China to Iran,’ Tasnim wrote in a post on X.
US Central Command released new images of the daring operation, which saw troops aboard the USS Spruance intercepting the Iranian-flagged M/V Touska after multiple warnings, sending global oil prices soaring.
Writing on Truth Social over the weekend, Donald Trump said: ‘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 Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room. 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!’
The Islamic Republic announced on Saturday that it was shutting down the Strait of Hormuz waterway again to commercial tankers and that any vessel that approaches it would be targeted.
On Monday morning, Brent crude futures were up by 4.74 per cent at $94.66 (£70.11) a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was 5.6 per cent higher at $88.55.
Meanwhile, a US delegation, led by Vice-President JD Vance, will travel to Pakistan for a new round of negotiations with Tehran as the fragile two-week ceasefire continues.
What to expect at the upcoming peace talks in Islamabad
Peace talks between Washington and Tehran are scheduled to take place in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, later today.
Delegations are expected to gather at the city’s Serena Hotel – where previous discussions on April 11 failed to achieve a resolution to end the war.
Guests have been told to leave the hotel and police have announced the closure of key surrounding roads.
Donald Trump announced that his ‘representatives’ would arrive in Islamabad this evening, with Vice-President JD Vance leading the US delegation alongside Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The Islamic Republic is yet to formally confirm whether it will attend discussions.
According to the country’s state media, the regime will not participate in the talks while the US blockade of Iranian ports remains in place.
The fragile two-week ceasefire is due to expire on Wednesday, and the US President has repeated his threats of destroying Iranian infrastructure if a deal isn’t signed.
A view of Serena hotel that hosted last round of peace talks between the USA and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 20
Security personnel stand guard at a security checkpost along a road temporarily closed near the Serena Hotel at the Red Zone area in Islamabad on April 20
Oil prices surge after Trump says Iranian tanker seized
Oil prices surged on Monday morning as a standoff between Iran and the US prevented tankers from using the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway.
Brent crude futures were up by 4.74 per cent at $94.66 (£70.11) a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was 5.6 per cent higher at $88.55.
On Friday, oil prices had dropped back to where they were in the early days of the Iran war, and US stocks raced to a fresh record after Tehran said the strait was open again for commercial tankers carrying crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.
But on Friday, the Islamic Republic closed the strait again after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iranian ports.
Tehran said the restrictions would remain if Washington did not ‘ensure full freedom of navigation for vessels travelling from Iran to destinations and from destinations to Iran’.
Tensions escalated again on Sunday when Donald Trump announced that the US had intercepted and seized an Iran-flagged cargo ship, the M/V Touska.
Officials claim the ship had attempted to push through the American blockade despite repeated warnings.
A fragile, two-week ceasefire is set to expire Wednesday, while deepening tensions in the Strait of Hormuz raises questions over new talks to end the war.
CENTCOM releases new photos of US raid on Iranian tanker
CENTCOM has published new images of the US navy seizing an Iranian-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday.
Troops aboard the USS Spruance intercepted the M/V Touska in the Arabian Sea as it sailed toward Bandar Abbas.
The operation is the first known time that the US fired on a commercial vessel during the conflict.
US President Donald Trump said American troops fired on and took ‘full custody’ of the vessel in the Gulf of Oman after it refused ‘fair warning to stop’.
The US navy had warned that it would board and seize any tankers attempting to evade its maritime siege, which began on April 13, of vessels going to or from Iranian ports.
Tehran attacks US ships with drones, according to Iranian media
Tehran has attacked US military ships in the Gulf of Oman with drones, according to the Iranian semi-official news agency Tasnim.
There has been no reports of damages from the apparent drone attacks.
It came after the US military launched a daring raid on an Iranian tanker that tried to breach the American naval blockade on Sunday.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters – the nation’s highest operational command unit coordinating the armed forces – described Washington’s naval operation as a violation of the ceasefire and said it would ‘retaliate for this act of armed piracy by the US Navy’.
‘Iranian forces launched drone strikes on US military vessels in the Gulf of Oman after American terrorists attacked an Iranian container ship, the Toska, en route from China to Iran,’ Tasnim wrote in a post on X.
Good morning and welcome to the Daily Mail’s live coverage of today’s events in the Middle East
