The crews of the two ships, MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the conflict began. Soldiers on speedboats equipped with weapons are said to have taken control of the ships.
The United Nations called today for the release of the crew members of the ships.
Iran released a video tonight of the raids on board the ships.
The IRGC has published footage of its forces seizing two cargo ships, the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and the Liberian-flagged Epaminondas, in the Strait of Hormuz today. https://t.co/X2veK83UK7 pic.twitter.com/xfwF6lJYK3
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) April 22, 2026
According to the BBC it is estimated that nearly twenty thousand fishermen are stuck in the Persian Gulf due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The cease-fire between the United States and Israel on the one hand and Iran on the other hand was supposed to end today, but the President of the United States, Donald Trump, extended it for an unspecified time yesterday. He said the US would continue to contain Iran.
See also: Extends the truce and cease-fire
Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s spokeswoman, said this evening that Trump did not see Iran’s attacks on the ships today as a violation of the ceasefire, as they did not belong to American or Israeli companies. Francesca is owned by a Swiss company and Epaminondas is owned by a Greek company.
Leavitt also said Trump extended the ceasefire to give Iran’s leaders time to buckle down. She said that “confused” what the Iranians said in public was not comparable to what they said in private. Leavitt said she repeatedly pointed that out to reporters and they should take note of her.
Q: Iranian state media is openly mocking President Trump. What’s your response?
LEAVITT: What they say publicly is much different than what they concede privately. You should take our word for it. pic.twitter.com/l5FEagPxWA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 22, 2026
She then reiterated that the goal of the Americans was to prevent the clerical government from acquiring nuclear weapons. Leavitt said the Iranians needed to give up the uranium they had enriched. It is known that a few years ago they had almost half a ton of relatively highly enriched uranium that could be used for the production of nuclear weapons.
The Americans believe that the uranium is buried under rubble after air attacks on research facilities in Iran last summer.
The US Middle East Command announced today that 29 ships that had tried to sail from Iran had been returned to port since the imposition of a military blockade on Iran. It would not be true that several ships were sailed through the ranks of the Americans, as was claimed in the media.
Three ships are mentioned separately, and two of them will have been returned to port, while the third was taken to the Indian Ocean and may now be accompanied by an American destroyer.
In a statement, US troops operate around the world.
US forces have directed 29 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the US blockade against Iran.
Over the past 24 hours, media reports have alleged that several commercial ships evaded the blockade, citing M/V Hero II, M/V Hedy, and M/V Dorena as examples. These… pic.twitter.com/SKelkSOr77
— US Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 22, 2026
Talks between the Americans and Iran were supposed to start in Pakistan today, but they have been postponed. It is unclear which of them will happen, but the rulers in Islamabad have tried to mediate between the factions.











