Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, just hours after President Donald Trump extended a fragile ceasefire with Tehran, raising fresh doubts about whether negotiations can hold.
The seized vessels, the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, are both managed by the Mediterranean Shipping Company. The Guard claimed the ships were operating without proper authorization and had tampered with navigation systems. Those claims could not be independently verified. A third ship, the Euphoria, was attacked after it became stranded off the Iranian coast, according to Iranian state media.
Trump extended the two-week ceasefire at the request of Pakistani officials, citing a fractured Iranian government unable to present a unified negotiating position. “Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.”
The extension came despite Trump saying Tuesday morning he was reluctant to extend the truce as its deadline neared. He reversed course by afternoon.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected the U.S. position outright. “Blockading Iranian ports is an act of war and thus a violation of the ceasefire,” he wrote on X. “Striking a commercial vessel and taking its crew hostage is an even greater violation.”
The comments followed a U.S. move Monday to seize the Iranian-flagged M/V Touska. Araghchi called it “an act of piracy.”
A planned second round of diplomatic talks in Islamabad appeared to collapse before it started. Vice President JD Vance, who had been expected to lead the U.S. delegation, remained in Washington after Iran indicated it would not participate in another round of negotiations while the naval blockade is in place.
Trump acknowledged the gap between public claims and battlefield reality in a late-night Truth Social post, arguing Iran privately wants the strait open. “Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day,” he wrote, noting that closure means Iran loses that revenue.
