Updated: April 20, 2026 7:46:41 am IST
The US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian ship in the Gulf of Oman.
US Iran War Live Updates: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday (local time) that US forces have seized the Tauska – an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that was trying to breach the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said the US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman and “gave them fair warning to desist”. However, when they did not comply, the President said, the US Navy ship stopped them “by blowing a hole in the engine room”. Trump said that the ship is with the US military.
In immediate response to the US attack, Iranian forces reportedly retaliated with drone strikes, PressTV reported.
Shortly thereafter, a spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters described the US strike as “a major act of aggression”. Lieutenant-Colonel Ibrahim Zolfgari warned that the Islamic Republic “will soon respond to this armed robbery and the US military’s countermeasures”.
What about peace talks?
Trump said a team of US negotiators would travel to Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran, raising hopes of extending the ceasefire that was set to expire on Wednesday.
However, according to state media reports, Iranian officials are not planning to engage in talks with the US.
“There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks,” Iranian sources said, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
Later, Iran’s state-run IRNA also announced on X, “Iran stated that its absence from the second round of talks is due to Washington’s excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, frequent changes in stance, repeated contradictions and the ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a violation of the ceasefire.”
status of strait of hormuz
More than 20 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, according to data from shipping analytics firm Kpler. This is the highest number of ships crossing the waterway since March 1.
Five of the ships transiting Saturday brought cargo from Iran loaded with products ranging from oil to metals. Three of them are liquefied petroleum gas carriers, one each headed to China and India.
Tehran says curbs on Iran oil ‘come with a price’
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said global fuel prices could stabilize only if economic and military pressure on Iranian oil exports was stopped.
“One cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports while expecting free security for others,” Aref wrote in a post on X. He said, “The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or risk significant costs for all.”
Oil prices rose in early trade on Sunday amid the standoff between Iran and the US.
…read more
In immediate response to the US attack, Iranian forces reportedly retaliated with drone strikes, PressTV reported.
Shortly thereafter, a spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters described the US strike as “a major act of aggression”. Lieutenant-Colonel Ibrahim Zolfgari warned that the Islamic Republic “will soon respond to this armed robbery and the US military’s countermeasures”.
What about peace talks?
Trump said a team of US negotiators would travel to Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran, raising hopes of extending the ceasefire that was set to expire on Wednesday.
However, according to state media reports, Iranian officials are not planning to engage in talks with the US.
“There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks,” Iranian sources said, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
Later, Iran’s state-run IRNA also announced on X, “Iran stated that its absence from the second round of talks is due to Washington’s excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, frequent changes in stance, repeated contradictions and the ongoing naval blockade, which it considers a violation of the ceasefire.”
status of strait of hormuz
More than 20 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, according to data from shipping analytics firm Kpler. This is the highest number of ships crossing the waterway since March 1.
Five of the ships transiting Saturday brought cargo from Iran loaded with products ranging from oil to metals. Three of them are liquefied petroleum gas carriers, one each headed to China and India.
Tehran says curbs on Iran oil ‘come with a price’
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said global fuel prices could stabilize only if economic and military pressure on Iranian oil exports was stopped.
“One cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports while expecting free security for others,” Aref wrote in a post on X. He said, “The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or risk significant costs for all.”
Oil prices rose in early trade on Sunday amid the standoff between Iran and the US.
Follow all updates here:
April 20, 2026 7:46:41 am First
US Iran war live updates: 3 killed in US military attack on alleged drug boat in Caribbean Sea
US Iran war live updates: The US military said it carried out another attack on a boat accused of carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, killing three people on Sunday.
The Trump administration’s campaign to blow up alleged drug-trafficking ships in Latin American waters has been ongoing since early September and has killed at least 181 people in total. Other attacks have occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Despite the Iran war, attacks have escalated again in the past week, suggesting that the administration’s aggressive steps to curb what it calls “narcoterrorism” in the Western Hemisphere are not slowing down. The military has not provided evidence that any of the ships were carrying drugs.
The attacks come as the US builds its largest military presence in the region in generations and come just months before a raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges and has pleaded innocent. (AP)
April 20, 2026 7:37:16 am First
US Iran war live updates: Tehran says sanctions on Iranian oil come with a price
US Iran War Live Updates: Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said global fuel prices can stabilize only when economic and military pressure on Iranian oil exports ends.
“One cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports while expecting free security for others,” Aref wrote on X. The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or risk significant costs for all.
Oil prices rose in early trading on Sunday as a standoff between Iran and the United States prevented tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, a Persian Gulf waterway that is vital to global energy supplies.
After resumption of trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the price of US crude oil increased by 6.4 percent to $ 87.88 per barrel. The price of international standard Brent crude rose 6.5 percent to $ 96.25 per barrel. (AP)
April 20, 2026 7:33:42 am First
US Iran war live updates: Iranian forces launch drones towards US warships after attack on commercial ship in Oman Sea
US Iran war live updates: Iranian forces launched drones towards US warships after an attack on an Iranian commercial ship in the Sea of ​​Oman, Al Jazeera reported citing Iranian media.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has claimed that US forces deployed in the Sea of ​​Oman were forced to retreat after firing on an Iranian merchant ship, Press TV reported.
Citing the Mehr news agency, Press TV reported that US forces operating in the area targeted an Iranian merchant ship in an attempt to force it to return to Iranian territorial waters.
According to the report, the incident occurred amid heightened maritime tensions over the Strait of Hormuz and the movement of international shipping vessels. (ANI)
April 20, 2026 7:29:47 am First
US Iran war live updates: Trump says US negotiators will visit Pakistan on Monday
US Iran war live updates: President Donald Trump said his negotiators will visit Pakistan on Monday for talks with Iran.
First, Trump said “no” to Vice President J.D. Vance’s approach to negotiations in at least two interviews. However, the White House later told another news channel that Vance would “participate” in talks in Pakistan along with Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
April 20, 2026 7:26:16 am First
US Iran war live updates: Tehran condemns US ‘brutal’ attack on Iranian ship
US Iran war live updates: Iran criticized the United States for a “flagrant act of aggression” carried out on an Iranian merchant ship in the Gulf of Oman, saying the US “deployed its terrorist marines on the deck of the ship and disabled its navigation system”.
“The aggressive United States violated the ceasefire and committed piracy by firing at an Iranian merchant ship in the waters of the Sea of ​​Oman and landing several of its terrorist marines on the deck of the ship, disabling its navigation system,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Ibrahim Zolfgari, spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters.
“We warn that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to this armed robbery and countermeasures by the US military,” PressTV quoted him as saying.
April 20, 2026 7:18:05 am First
US Iran war live updates: Trump says Iranian-flagged ship trying to break US blockade seized
US Iran war live updates: President Donald Trump said on Monday that an Iranian-flagged cargo ship was stopped and later seized in the Gulf of Oman as it tried to bypass the US-imposed naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz. Following this, Iran reportedly vowed a swift response against what it called “armed robbery”.
The US President said the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance had given the ship “fair warning” to stop, but when the Iranian crew did not listen, the ship stopped them “by blowing a hole in the engine room”.
According to the US President, the Iranian ship, Tauska, was approximately 900 feet long and weighed approximately “equivalent to an aircraft carrier”. Following the interception, Tosca is now in the custody of US Marines.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said, “TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury sanctions due to its prior history of illegal activity. We have full surveillance of the ship, and we are looking at what is on board!”
