Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked three civilian cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday morning and claimed to have seized two, just hours after President Trump extended the U.S. ceasefire with the repressive Islamic regime.
The IRGC opened fire on the Greek-owned, Liberia-flagged container ship Epaminondas without warning after approaching it by gunboat northeast of Oman, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre.
The unprovoked attack caused heavy damage to the ship’s bridge. All crew members were reported safe with no fire or environmental impact.
The ship’s captain told authorities he believed the vessel had permission to transit the strait and was running dark — meaning its AIS tracking transponder was switched off to avoid attention — when IRGC forces fired on it anyway.
A second container ship, the UAE-owned, Panama-flagged Euphoria, was fired upon about eight nautical miles west of Iran approximately three hours later. The vessel was brought to a halt but sustained no serious damage, and the crew was also reported safe.
A third ship, the MSC-owned, Panama-flagged Francesca, was stopped by the IRGC and ordered to drop anchor before being attacked and sustaining damage to its hull. Iranian state media claimed the Epaminondas and Francesca were seized and taken into Iranian waters “in order to examine the cargo and documents,” claiming both ships belonged to the “Zionist regime.”
The unprovoked attacks on unarmed civilian cargo ships came just hours after Trump announced he was extending the ceasefire with Iran to allow the fractured regime in Tehran to submit a “unified proposal” for peace talks that had been scheduled to take place in Pakistan. Those talks have been cancelled. T ceasefire extension is expected to be brief.
Trump said Tuesday that Iran is “collapsing financially” under the U.S. naval blockade of its ports.
“They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately — Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!”
Before the war began on Feb. 28, roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz. It has since dried up to virtually none.