San Diego-based USS Spruance seizes Iranian-flagged cargo ship near Strait of Hormuz

The San Diego-based destroyer USS Spruance attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that President Trump said had tried to evade its naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, and Iran’s joint military command vowed to respond, throwing a fragile ceasefire into question days before it expires.

Trump on social media said a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman warned the Iranian-flagged ship, the Touska, to stop and then “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room.” U.S. Marines had custody of the U.S.-sanctioned vessel and were “seeing what’s on board!”

U.S. forces operating in the Arabian Sea enforced naval blockade measures against an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, April 19.

Guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at… https://t.co/iyzOQd93C3 pic.twitter.com/HwU4XS48Oq

— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) April 19, 2026

It was the first interception since the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports began last week. Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a ceasefire violation, the state broadcaster said.

With the U.S.-Iran standoff over the Strait sharpening and the ceasefire set to expire by Wednesday, it was unclear where President Donald Trump’s earlier announcement about new talks with Iran now stood. He had said U.S. negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday.

Video released by the Department of Defense shows San Diego-based USS Spruance, part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group, launching tomahawk land attack missiles during Operation Epic Fury, according to the military.

It was not clear whether anyone was hurt. The U.S. Central Command, which didn’t answer questions, said the destroyer had issued “repeated warnings over a six-hour period.”

USS Spruance is part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group, homeported at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, which has been positioned around the Arabian Sea for months.