The escalation in the Gulf of Oman picked up speed this weekend. On April 19, the US destroyer USS Spruance opened fire on the Iranian cargo ship Touska, punching a hole through its engine room after six hours of warnings for trying to break through the naval blockade imposed by Washington. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded the vessel and took control of it as it sailed toward Bandar Abbas.

The Iranian response came fast. According to Tasnim news agency, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, Iranian forces launched several drones at US military vessels in retaliation for the strike on the Touska. The Pentagon confirmed the drone activity but said no damage was caused. Tehran called the seizure “armed piracy” and warned it would “respond soon.”

The clash hits an already fragile ceasefire. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the attack on the cargo ship “violates the two-week truce” agreed in April, while Trump announced on Truth Social that his Navy “stopped the Touska in its tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room.” Iran retaliated further by seizing two more international vessels near the Strait of Hormuz: the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas.