Iran Seizes Two Ships Despite US Attack Pause

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized two ships for “maritime violations,” according to Tasnim News Agency, marking the first such action since the war began at the end of February.

The vessels were escorted to Iranian shores. Earlier the same day, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said three ships had come under fire, including one hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, with heavy bridge damage but no reported casualties.

Two additional ships reported being targeted roughly eight nautical miles west of Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would hold its attack on Iran following a request by Pakistani mediators, but confirmed the naval blockade would continue.

U.S. forces have recently escalated enforcement, including the seizure of an Iranian cargo vessel and boarding of a tanker in the Indian Ocean earlier in the week.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned such actions as “piracy at sea and state terrorism,” while maintaining that it would not reopen the strait as long as the blockade remains in effect.

Efforts to restart negotiations in Islamabad stalled after both delegations failed to attend planned talks ahead of a two-week-old ceasefire deadline. A Pakistani official said, “We had prepared everything… the stage was set,” calling the breakdown an unexpected setback.

Another source said mediators were “working very hard to bridge that conflict,” but acknowledged shifting conditions. U.S. officials believe a deal remains possible, though Iran is seen as internally divided, according to Axios.

Trump said Iran seeks to reopen the strait to recover “$500 Million Dollars a day,” arguing Tehran is constrained by the blockade. Hours earlier, he had warned U.S. forces were “raring to go.”

Markets reacted quickly: oil prices fell below $100, while currency and equity indicators moved on ceasefire expectations.

Yet Iran continues to condition any reopening on lifting the blockade, maintaining control over a chokepoint central to global energy supply during a war now in its eighth week.