Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked multiple ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, less than a day after President Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely until Tehran agrees to negotiate a new deal. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that an IRGC gun boat approached and then fired on a container ship… Source link
A ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared in jeopardy on Monday after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Tehran vowed to retaliate, refusing for now to join new peace talks. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Washington has shown it was “not serious” about pursuing the diplomatic process and Tehran would not change its clearly stated demands, adding that it did not believe in deadlines or ultimatums when safeguarding national interests. FRANCE 24’s International Affairs Editor Angela Diffley tells us more. Source link
Commuters drive past a giant billboard referring to the Strait of Hormuz along a busy street in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images A U.S. negotiating team is expected to head to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks with Iran — which says it might not even show up. Tehran’s reticence comes after the U.S. on Sunday fired on and seized an Iranian cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz as part of a U.S. naval blockade on vessels accessing Iran’s ports in the vital waterway. A video released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) shows the seizure of the Iranian ship, with Marines descending from a helicopter by rope to board the vessel, the Touska, after “guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) disabled Touska’s propulsion,” according to a statement posted online with the video. President Trump said Sunday the U.S. military had “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room” after the ship failed to …
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media, before boarding Air Force One on his way to Virginia, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., April 10, 2026. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters The U.S Navy fired on and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman before Marines boarded and seized the vessel, President Donald Trump said Sunday. Trump, in a Truth Social post, said that the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian ship, the Touska, and “gave them fair warning to stop.” “The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom,” Trump said in the post. “Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,” the president said. He noted that the Touska is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions due to its “prior history of illegal activity.” U.S. Central Command later Sunday released a video of a Spruance crew member warning the Touska in a radio transmission, “We’re prepared to subject you to disabling fire. The Spruance …
The sun rises behind a tanker anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, on Saturday. Asghar Besharati/AP hide caption toggle caption Asghar Besharati/AP The U.S. has seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz after firing on its engine room, President Trump said in a post on social media. Trump wrote that the U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the Touska in the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. Navy “gave them fair warning to stop. The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. He said U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel and that it is “under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity.” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that the Iranian ship refused to comply with U.S. warnings over the course of six hours before the U.S. fired on the ship and boarded it. …
In the Persian Gulf, about 20 miles off the Iranian coast, is a small, rocky island called Kharg that could be the Trump administration’s key to victory in the war it unleashed. It could also be America’s undoing. The island is tiny—a little less than eight square miles—and has a population of about 20,000 people, most of them oil workers. It’s also the point of departure for approximately 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports. The United States struck military targets on Kharg on March 13 and is now reportedly considering invading it. The thinking goes something like this: Iran has extended its control over the world’s oil markets by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which most Persian Gulf exports must travel. The Iranian regime has made an exception for tankers carrying its own oil, and has reportedly exported at least 16 million barrels since the war began. But other Gulf nations have been largely unable to move their oil, and the effect has been an increase in Iranian revenue as the …
March 20 : The website used by an Iranian government-linked hacking unit that claimed responsibility for a March 11 cyberattack on a U.S. medical device maker is back up and running a day after the FBI and Department of Justice seized its internet domains. Four domains associated with “Handala Hack Team” had been seized, the Department of Justice said on Thursday. Handala is one of several public personas used by a hacking unit operating under Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) as part of the agency’s psychological operations, the DOJ said. On Friday, Handala said in a post on its website that the seizures were “desperate attempts by the United States and its allies to silence the voice of Handala.” The quick rebound highlights the resilience of Iranian-linked hacking units’ public personas, said Ari Ben Am, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. “Iranian threat actors, MOIS in particular, are no strangers to takedowns,” Ben Am said. “Handala alone has had tens of Telegram channels, X …
“That’s his strategy,” said a Socialist Party adviser who, like others quoted in this story, was granted anonymity to discuss party politics. “We are capable of taking a dive in elections, but France Unbowed never takes a dive, they never go under 10 percent” in national elections, the adviser said. “But there isn’t a scenario in which he wins in a runoff vote against Bardella.” The difficulty for the moderate left is compounded by the fact that Mélenchon is one of the most charismatic politicians on the left. He has even drawn the reluctant admiration of Le Pen’s niece, Marion Maréchal, who called him “the most cultured” politician around. But what’s true of the left is also to some extent true of the conservatives and the center right, which are enmeshed in internal squabbling to see who can assume Macron’s mantle. “What are the political offers on the table and who is there to embody them?” asked a close ally of the French president. “I can see what the extremes are offering, but in between, …
Florida’s push against illegal gambling operations just got bigger, with state regulators announcing that more machines and cash have been taken off the streets in a widening Central Florida crackdown. The Florida Gaming Control Commission says the tally from Operation Reel of Fortune has climbed sharply since the first round of raids. In its latest update, the agency reports that 623 illegal slot machines and $350,800 in cash have now been seized as part of the coordinated effort spanning multiple counties. The updated numbers for Operation Reel of Fortune are now 623 slot machines and $350,800 seized from illegal casinos over a three day period in Duval, Flagler, Volusia, and Brevard Counties. A great partnership with AG James Uthmeier and the Sheriffs in all four counties. pic.twitter.com/jUKrvPe4bq — Florida Gaming Control Commission (@FLGamingControl) March 3, 2026 “The updated numbers for Operation Reel of Fortune are now 623 slot machines and $350,800 seized from illegal casinos over a three day period in Duval, Flagler, Volusia, and Brevard Counties,” the commission wrote in a post on X. …
The seized Ethera vessel is docked at the naval base in Zeebrugge, Belgium, on March 1, 2026. NICOLAS MAETERLINCK / AFP Belgium’s special forces boarded and seized an oil tanker from the “shadow fleet” Russia uses to circumvent Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, the government said on Sunday, March 1. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said the vessel was intercepted in the North Sea during an overnight operation. “Today, a vessel from Russia’s shadow fleet was intercepted in the North Sea,” Prévot wrote on X, thanking Belgian special forces for their “exceptional professionalism and courage.” Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said the intercepted tanker was “being escorted to the port of Zeebrugge, where it will be seized.” Prosecutors identified the ship, which was said to be on its way back to Russia, as the Ethera. The tanker flew the flag of Guinea, but an on-board inspection confirmed suspicion that it was sailing under a false flag, they said. Read more Subscribers only Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine’s shipping routes in the Black Sea …
