Daily Mail57%
Iran 'seizes two ships' after three vessels are attacked in Strait of Hormuz following Trump's ceasefire extension 54%
By Imogen Garfinkel0%
4/22/2026, 11:07:54 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 17 faulty reasoning types, including Self-Serving Bias, Framing Effect, and Out-Group Homogeneity Bias, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 24.1% saturation with 241 hits. Analysis detected 1,328 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,000 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 52.1% and a BS Rank of 54% (7,862 of 16,813 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 53.20% of the article peer group.
Iran 'seizes two ships' after three vessels are attacked in Strait of Hormuz following Trump's ceasefire extension
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By IMOGEN GARFINKEL - SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published: 07:07 EDT, 22 April 2026 | Updated: 07:30 EDT, 22 April 2026
Iran has seized two cargo ships after attacking them as well as a third in the Strait of the Hormuz, accusing the vessels of being 'non-compliant' with the regime's demands.
It comes after US President Donald Trump announced last night he would extend the ceasefire but continue the American naval blockade of Iranian ports, as a way of exerting pressure on the Islamic Republic to reopen the vital waterway.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) identified one seized ship as 'MSC-FRANCESCA', which they said belonged 'to the Zionist regime' in reference to Israel, and the other as 'EPAMINONDAS', which they said was 'tampering with navigation systems and jeopardising maritime security'.
The regime's semi-official news agency Tasnim said the two seized vessels were 'non-compliant', adding that the ships had 'endangered maritime security by operating without the necessary permits'.
Both ships were earlier struck by the IRGC in a clear escalation of hostilities, as the Islamic regime continues to claim ownership over the international oil passage.
'The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval force this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships,' the Guards said in a statement.
'The two offending ships... were seized by the IRGC's naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast.'
The Guards further warned against any action against the regulations imposed by the Islamic republic in the strait 'as well as activities contrary to the safe passage' through the waterway.
US forces patrol the Arabian Sea near M/V Touska on April 20, after firing upon the Iranian-flagged vessel
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) identified one seized ship as the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, which they said belonged 'to the Zionist regime' in reference to Israel
The first ship to be targetted today was the Greek-flagged Epaminondas, 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman.
It was later seized by the IRGC
Tehran has said vessels must seek permission to leave of enter the Gulf through Hormuz, through a route that in peacetime accounts for a fifth of the world's oil and gas exports along with other vital commodities.
The navy said the seized ships have been transferred to the territorial waters of Iran for 'inspection of their cargo, documents, and records'.
The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency said earlier another vessel called Euphoria was attacked, and is now grounded off the coast of Iran.
The first ship to be targetted today was the Greek-flagged Epaminondas, 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said an IRGC 'gun boat' fired on the container ship and caused heavy damage to its bridge.
Nour News, affiliated with the regime's Supreme National Security Council, disputes an account given by the master of the ship to the UKMTO that no radio warning was given to the vessel.
Instead, it claims the vessel had 'ignored warnings' from the Iranian military.
The second ship to be targetted was the Panama-flagged Euphoria, which began transiting the strait at 1.10am UTC (2.10am BST) on April 22, with Jeddah, Saudi Arabia listed as its destination.
The vessel, owned by a UAE-based company, came under fire eight nautical miles west of Iran at 6.38am UTC (7.38am BST).
The ship's master brought the boat to a halt.
The third ship to be attacked was the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, around six nautical miles off the coast of Iran while it was heading south out of the strait and into the Gulf of Oman.
The vessel has reported 'damage to the hull and accommodation'.
Iran has seized two ships after attacking them as well as a third vessel in the Strait of the Hormuz, accusing the vessels of being 'non-compliant' with the regime's demands
US President Donald Trump announced last night he would extend the ceasefire but continue the American naval blockade of Iranian ports
Trump said in a statement on social media last night that the US had agreed to a request by Pakistani mediators 'to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal ... and discussions are concluded, one way or the other'.
The US President had earlier insisted he wouldn't move the deadline, which was set to expire on Wednesday.
But even as he announced what appeared to be a unilateral ceasefire extension, Trump also said he would continue the US Navy's blockade of Iran's trade by sea.
Tehran considers the US blockade an act of war and has said it will not lift its closure of the strait, which has caused a global energy crisis, as long as the blockade continues.
Pakistan, acting as mediator, had cleared out a luxury hotel in the capital Islamabad for last-ditch peace talks on Tuesday, in the hopes of reaching a deal in the final hours before a two-week-old ceasefire expired.
But Iran never confirmed it would attend and a US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance never departed Washington, leaving an apparent stalemate in the nearly two-month war with no clear solution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, told The Associated Press that communications with Pakistani mediators are underway 'to implement Iran’s conditions'.
'We won’t negotiate under threat,' he said.
'We won’t go to Islamabad before the lifting of the blockade.'
He accused the US of using the ceasefire to build up more forces for a possible resumption of military action against the Islamic Republic.
'Behind the scenes, they say something, but in public, they say and do something else,' he said.
Analysis
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