Iran Claims It Fired on and Seized Ships - but There's More to the Story

The Iranian regime folks are not happy campers right now.

They're being squeezed by the U.S. blockade that's costing them an estimated $435 million a day. As Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained, that's going to cause their Kharg Island operation to be "shut in" soon. That's the money that sustains the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that would then be cut off.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is even seizing its ships, like the MV Touska, that tried to run the U.S. blockade with some bad materials aboard that could have helped their missile program.

Confirmed: Inside the Seized Iranian Tanker - What the US Just Captured

So what are the regime's options? They can continue to try to make trouble in the Strait.

Iranian state TV claimed on Wednesday that the regime had fired on three ships and seized two of them. Of course, because they're the regime, there are some problems with that story.

The first part of the story is that four MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) ships ran the same line as the cruise ships had been running to avoid the IRGC. You can see them turn off their transponders as they were going through the Strait, and then those coming back on again after they made it past.

Two vessels reportedly seized by the IRGC are both operated by MSC

While initial reports suggested they were part of a six-vessel MSC convoy, track analysis conducted by #MarineTraffic analysts indicates it is unlikely they were transiting together with the other four vessels,… pic.twitter.com/1Otru64ual
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) April 22, 2026

So six more ships made it past the Strait, hugging the coast.

The problem arose with the two ships traveling separately, the MSC Francesca and the Epamimondas.

Iran claims they fired on them and seized them. They also claimed they fired on the Euphoria and that it is stranded off the Iranian coast.

But the present location shows that the Euphoria is at Khor Fakkan, in the United Arab Emirates. So that part about them being "stranded" off the Iranian coast sounds like a lot of b.s. It appears to have made it past the Strait and is in the UAE.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said that one of the ships reported being fired on by an IRGC gunboat without any prior warning, about 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman.

UKMTO WARNING 041-26

Click here to view the full Warning⤵️https://t.co/oXDfRxeBwc #MaritimeSecurity #Marsec pic.twitter.com/tguqtbkWRf
— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) April 22, 2026

🚨Maritime Alert: Και τρίτο εμπορικό πλοίο φέρεται να έχει δεχθεί επίθεση από το IRGC νωρίτερα σήμερα εξερχόμενο των Στενών του Ορμούζ. Πρόκειται για το υπό παναμέζικης σημαίας container ship "EUPHORIA" (IMO: 9235828), συμφερόντων UAE. Όλα τα μέλη του πληρώματος είναι ασφαλή και… pic.twitter.com/fJ5U404TTq
— OSINT Athena (@OSINTathena) April 22, 2026

So the problem may have been that these three ships weren't hugging Oman as much and were further north toward Iran and the "approved lane" that Iran is monitoring. The crews are reportedly uninjured.

Iranian Cargo Ship Tries to Get Past the U.S. Blockade - Trump: It 'Did Not Go Well for Them'

Now this is obviously an effort to flex after the seizure of their ship by the U.S. The problem? It's not U.S. ships, and they're just antagonizing more countries/other people over their actions. That only increases the calls that they need to be dealt with.

So it's a "flex" with diminishing returns, not to mention, they may get a response from the U.S. that they might not like if the U.S. decides now to end the ceasefire.

Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.

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