US Navy destroyer fires on cargo vessel attempting to sail to Iranian port

A U.S. Navy destroyer operating in the Arabian Sea enforced the ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports on Sunday when it fired on a cargo vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port .

The Iranian-flagged M/V Touska was transiting the north Arabian Sea toward Bandar Abbas, Iran, when it was intercepted by the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance and issued warnings that it was in violation of the blockade, U.S. Central Command announced on Sunday.

“After Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room,” the CENTCOM release stated. “Spruance disabled Touska’s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room.”

U.S. Central Command published a brief video of the encounter .

U.S. Marines assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit subsequently boarded the vessel, the release stated. The Touska remains in U.S. custody.

Acknowledging the encounter in a post on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that “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 engineroom,” Trump added . “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 U.S. Navy blockade , which involves 10,000 troops, over a dozen warships and more than 100 fighter and surveillance aircraft, went into effect on April 13 following failed peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Any vessels transiting to and from Iranian ports are subject to the blockade, CENTCOM officials stated, while ships not visiting Iranian ports can still navigate the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran, meanwhile, said it would retaliate for Sunday’s incident, as tensions continued to escalate Sunday amid a fragile ceasefire.

“We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the U.S. military,” an Iranian military spokesperson said, according to state media.

Iranian state media also reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade, threatening rhetoric and Washington’s shifting positions and “excessive demands.”

“One cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports while expecting free security for others. The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone,” Iran’s First Vice President Mohammadreza Aref wrote on social media.

U.S. forces have encountered and redirected 25 commercial vessels since launching the blockade, according to CENTCOM.

Military Times reporter Riley Ceder and Reuters reporters Daphne Psaledakis, Trevor Hunnicutt and Saad Sayeed contributed to this report.

J.D. Simkins is Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.

周日，一艘在阿拉伯海执行任务的美国海军驱逐舰向一艘试图驶往伊朗港口的货船开火，以加强对伊朗港口的持续海上封锁。

美国中央司令部周日宣布，悬挂伊朗国旗的“图斯卡”号货轮在穿越阿拉伯海北部驶往伊朗阿巴斯港时，被导弹驱逐舰“斯普鲁恩斯”号拦截，并被警告称其违反了封锁。

“在长达六个小时的时间里，‘图斯卡’号的船员屡次拒绝服从警告后，斯普鲁恩斯下令该舰疏散机舱人员，”中央司令部发布的消息称。“斯普鲁恩斯用驱逐舰上的5英寸MK 45舰炮向‘图斯卡’号的机舱发射了数发炮弹，使其推进系统瘫痪。”

美国中央司令部发布了一段关于此次遭遇的简短视频。

新闻稿称，隶属于美国海军陆战队第31远征部队的陆战队员随后登上了该船。“图斯卡”号目前仍由美方扣押。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在 Truth Social 上发帖承认了这次遭遇，他表示：“一艘悬挂伊朗国旗、名为 TOUSKA 的货船，长近 900 英尺，重量几乎与一艘航空母舰相当，试图突破我们的海军封锁，但他们的行动并不顺利。”

特朗普补充道：“伊朗船员拒不服从，所以我们的海军舰艇直接炸毁了他们的机舱，阻止了他们的行动。由于‘图斯卡’号此前曾有非法活动记录，因此受到美国财政部的制裁。我们完全控制了这艘船，正在检查船上的情况！”

美国海军于4月13日对伊朗实施封锁，该封锁动用了1万名士兵、十几艘军舰和100多架战斗机和侦察机，此前美国和伊朗之间的和平谈判失败。

美国中央司令部官员表示，任何往返伊朗港口的船只都将受到封锁，而未停靠伊朗港口的船只仍可通行霍尔木兹海峡。

与此同时，伊朗表示将对周日的事件进行报复，在脆弱的停火协议下，紧张局势周日继续升级。

据伊朗国家媒体报道，一位伊朗军方发言人表示：“我们警告，伊朗伊斯兰共和国武装部队将很快对美国军方的这种武装劫掠行为作出回应和报复。”

伊朗国家媒体还报道称，德黑兰拒绝了新的和平谈判，理由是持续的封锁、威胁性的言论以及华盛顿立场的转变和“过分的要求”。

伊朗第一副总统穆罕默德-礼萨·阿里夫在社交媒体上写道：“不能一方面限制伊朗的石油出口，另一方面又指望其他国家享有完全的安全保障。选择很明确：要么建立一个对所有人来说都自由的石油市场，要么就冒着让所有人都付出巨大代价的风险。”

据美国中央司令部称，自美军发起封锁以来，美军已拦截并迫使 25 艘商船改变航向。

《军事时报》记者 Riley Ceder 和路透社记者 Daphne Psaledakis、Trevor Hunnicutt 和 Saad Sayeed 对本报道亦有贡献。

JD Simkins 是《军事时报》和《防务新闻》的总编辑，也是参加过伊拉克战争的海军陆战队老兵。