Iran seizes 2 ships in Strait of Hormuz

Michael Loria, Bart Jansen, Christopher Cann, Zachary Schermele and

Andrea Riquier

USA TODAY

Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22, tightening its grip on the strategic waterway, after President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire 'until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.'

Three container ships in total were fired upon around the strait, according to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British organization that tracks merchant vessels. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two of the vessels for alleged maritime violations and escorted them to Iran’s shores, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Of the two seized vessels, Epaminondas was headed to Mundra, India, and Euphoria was headed to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to marinetraffic.com. The third third ship that was fired upon, MSC Francesca, was headed to Hambantota, Sri Lanka, according to marinetraffic.com. The ships were the first seized since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began Feb. 28.

The seizures came after Trump extended a two-week ceasefire, to give Iran’s leaders more time to respond to U.S. peace proposals. But the U.S. Navy continues to blockade ships visiting Iranian ports and Tehran continues to threaten ships attempting to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas travels.

Trump has threatened to 'blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!' if the two countries can’t reach a settlement.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad B. Ghalibaf on April 22 said reopening the Strait of Hormuz is 'impossible,' calling the U.S. blockade a 'flagrant breach of the ceasefire.'

Ghalibaf wrote of the United States on X: 'They did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying. The only way forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation.'

No ‘firm deadline’ for response

After warning that he would attack Iran’s infrastructure if a peace deal wasn’t reached, Trump decided against additional military action and extended a two-week ceasefire to give Tehran more time to submit a proposal to U.S. negotiators.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on April 22 said Trump was 'generously offering a bit of flexibility,' but wouldn’t say how long the United States would wait to hear from Iran.

'The president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal,' Leavitt told reporters outside the White House, adding: 'Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander in chief.'

Leavitt reiterated the Trump administration’s demand that Iran turn over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium if it wants to end the war.

The top White House official’s comments signal Trump intends to hold the line with regards to Iran’s nuclear material. The president has said the highly enriched uranium lies buried underground due to U.S. air strikes over the summer and would take significant work to retrieve.

Iran says it has only a peaceful civilian nuclear program and wants to continue that. It wants the war to end, sanctions to be lifted, reparations for wartime damage and recognition of its control over the strait.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on April 22 said his country has not decided whether to join a second round of negotiations. 'Washington keeps changing its stance hour by hour and lacks consistency and a unified approach in its decisions,' he said, according to Iranian state television.

Lebanon, Israel to resume talks

Meanwhile, Lebanese and Israeli diplomats will meet in Washington on April 23 as the clock winds down on a fragile ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

The meeting will be the second between envoys of the two nations in April. The first meeting, which were the highest-level direct talks between the countries in three decades, led to a 10-day ceasefire that has been tested as Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel continue to trade strikes.

While officials from both countries have expressed an interest in seeking a lasting peace agreement, there are several sticking points.

Lebanese officials have called for Israel to remove its ground troops from southern Lebanon. Israel, meanwhile, has vowed to continue occupying a significant portion of southern Lebanon until it eliminates the threat posed by Hezbollah, which is not directly involved in the talks and is more powerful militarily than the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Meanwhile, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on April 29.

U.K., France lead effort to reopen Strait of Hormuz

The United Kingdom, France and other countries are taking steps to independently reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Dozens of military leaders convened in London on April 21 to come up with a plan to reopen the critical waterway.

Meanwhile, the White House signaled Trump’s growing displeasure with European allies, saying the president tested them 'and they failed.'

'We hear a lot of talk from the Europeans, unfortunately we don’t see enough action as far as President Trump is concerned,' Leavitt said April 22 in a Fox News interview.

'In his view, he tested NATO and they failed. They failed to come to the defense and to join forces with the United States as the president engaged in this very bold and courageous operation to take out the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world, the Iranian regime.'

The United States’ NATO allies have said they were not consulted about launching the war on Iran, and many have disavowed the effort.

Contributing: Reuters

U.S. forces patrol the Arabian Sea near the Touska, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, on April 20. The U.S. Navy continues to blockade ships visiting Iranian ports, and Tehran continues to threaten ships attempting to travel through the Strait of Hormuz.

Provided by NAVCENT PUBLIC AFFAIRS/U.S. NAVY/AFP via Getty Images