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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Iran has fired on and captured at least two ships in the Strait of Hormuz, hours after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would extend a two-week ceasefire in the war, an arrangement Tehran has not agreed to.
On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had captured the MSC Francesca, which it said was linked to Israel, and also the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas, which is owned by a Greek firm.
The attacks, first reported by British authorities, are an indication of Tehran's attitude to Trump's declared extension of the truce.
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Iran had refused to engage in peace talks this week in Pakistan, arguing that a U.S. blockade of Iranian ships is a violation of the ceasefire agreed to on April 8 and that Washington's most recent efforts at diplomacy were a ploy to give the U.S. military more time to prepare for another round of fighting.
Reports have emerged this week of the U.S. military deploying a third wave of troops to the Middle East - including another aircraft carrier and 10,000 specialist troops.
The reinforcements will bolster the U.S. forces already in the region, who have been engaged in a naval blockade of Iranian ships around the Strait of Hormuz since last Monday.
President Trump has declared that blockade - aimed at stopping Iran's oil exports - a success. American troops have captured two Iranian ships in the past week, including the M/V Touska on April 19, which was accused of trying to run the American blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
However, ship monitors this week noted at least 34 Iranian ships carrying oil have managed to evade the U.S. blockade.
Iran Launches New Attacks on Ships
On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Command said it had captured two vessels, identified as MSC Francesca, which it said was linked to Israel and also the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas which Greek media said was owned by Technomar Shipping and operated by MSC.
Iranian media reported that the IRGC transferred the vessels to the Iranian coast for “operating without the required authorization and for manipulating navigation systems,” adding that this “jeopardized maritime security”.
The IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency named a third vessel—Euphoria—as also being among its targets on Wednesday, although further details were not immediately available.
In a statement on state agency Tasnim, the IRGC said the vessels had been operating without the required permits and tampering with navigation systems and so were escorted to the Iranian coast.
“Disturbing the order and safety of the Strait of Hormuz is our red line,” the statement added, according to a translation.
In the first attack reported on Wednesday, an IRGC gunboat fired on and heavily damaged a vessel’s bridge about 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman on Wednesday, said the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO), whose statement did not name the vessel.
No fires were reported on board and all the crew were safe, the statement added. Iran's Fars news agency described the operation as Tehran “lawfully enforcing” its authority over the waterway.
Nour News, which is linked to Iran’s Supreme National Council, said the IRGC fired upon the vessel after it had ignored warnings from armed forces.
The British authorities had also reported that a second outbound cargo ship was fired upon in the waterway, eight nautical miles west of Iran. It had stopped in the water although it added there was no damage and the crew were safe and accounted for.
"UKMTO is aware of high levels of activity in the SoH [Strait of Hormuz] area and encourages vessels to report any suspicious activity,” said the statement. Newsweek has contacted the UKMTO for further comment.
Iran has exploited its ability to control the passage of vessels in the strait in response to U.S. and Israeli attacks via the IRGC’s small, fast attack boats.
Iranian Ships Still Breaking the U.S. Blockade
Tehran considers the continued blockade of Iran's trade by sea as an act of war.
An adviser to Iran's lead negotiator, the speaker of parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, also said on Wednesday that Trump's declared ceasefire extension may just be a ploy to buy time for the U.S. military to launch a surprise strike.
Despite the U.S. blockade, at least 34 tankers linked to Iran have managed to bypass the restrictions since it started on April 13, according to cargo tracking group Vortexa.
The Hero II and Hedy, two Iran-flagged crude carriers, were captured in satellite imagery moving past the blockade line and into the Arabian Sea on April 20, according to Vortexa.
The U.S. military has said that its blockade has been effective, and has resulted in the turn-around of 28 ships in the past week.
Trump said on social media that the two-week ceasefire that was set to end at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday would be extended to allow for further peace talks. But it did not appear to have the backing of Iran or Israel, the U.S. ally in the Iran war.
This is a retreat from his threats to bomb Iran's power plants and bridges which had been condemned by the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, and others who have raised alarm at attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
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