Iran seized two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and tightened its grip on the strategic waterway on Thursday, as the status of a ceasefire with the United States remained unclear and peace talks showed no sign of restarting.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas and the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, escorting them to Iranian shores after accusing both vessels of operating without required permits and tampering with their navigation systems. A third container ship was fired upon in the same area but was not damaged and resumed sailing, maritime security sources said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the seizures “piracy” but said they did not constitute a ceasefire violation as neither vessel was American or Israeli.
The developments followed a sharp about-face by President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday stepped back from threats of renewed strikes and announced the US would extend the ceasefire until Iran presented a unified proposal for peace talks. He set no deadline. Iranian officials, however, did not confirm any agreement to an extension and criticised the continued US naval blockade of Iranian ports, which Tehran considers an act of war.
Iran’s parliament speaker and lead negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said a full ceasefire was impossible while the blockade remained in place. “You did not achieve your goals through military aggression and you will not achieve them by bullying either,” he wrote on social media. “The only way is recognising the Iranian people’s rights.”
The Strait of Hormuz, which carried roughly a fifth of the world’s oil trade before the war, remains effectively closed. Brent crude held above $100 a barrel in Asian trade on Thursday, having crossed that threshold for the first time in two weeks the previous day. The US military said it had directed more than 30 ships to turn around or return to port under the blockade, and had intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan, the chief mediator, was still attempting to bring the two sides together after both failed to appear for tentatively scheduled talks in Islamabad on Tuesday. A first round of negotiations eleven days ago produced no agreement. Trump is seeking Iran’s surrender of highly enriched uranium and a halt to further enrichment; Tehran is demanding sanctions relief, war reparations and recognition of its control over the strait.
Iran has also made a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah a condition of any broader truce. Israeli air strikes on Lebanon killed at least five people on Wednesday, including Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, in the deadliest day since a 10-day ceasefire was announced on 16 April.
Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, since the war began with joint US-Israeli strikes on 28 February.
(Reuters)
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