WASHINGTON/DUBAI/ISLAMABAD, April 23 - Iran escalated its control over the Strait of Hormuz by seizing two ships and escorting them to Iranian shores, actions that followed an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would indefinitely call off planned attacks. The development came with no clear sign that formal negotiations to end the conflict would resume.
The status of a ceasefire that had been in effect for two weeks - and was due to expire earlier this week - remained unresolved. President Trump said on Tuesday that he would extend the pause in U.S. attacks until the United States had time to review an Iranian proposal in peace discussions. The announcement appeared to be unilateral, and Iranian authorities did not confirm any agreement to prolong the truce.
Iranian officials sharply criticized the U.S. decision to maintain a naval blockade of Iran’s maritime trade, which Tehran regards as an act of war and a breach of any ceasefire. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and lead negotiator, said removing the blockade was a precondition for a full ceasefire. Reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage that carried roughly a fifth of global oil trade before the conflict, was impossible while what he described as a "flagrant breach of the ceasefire" persisted, Qalibaf said on social media.
"You did not achieve your goals through military aggression and you will not achieve them by bullying either," Qalibaf wrote in his first public response to the U.S. announcement. "The only way is recognizing the Iranian people’s rights."
Hours earlier, U.S. officials had threatened renewed strikes, but the president again backed away from direct attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure, including power plants - targets that international bodies warn would violate humanitarian law. Despite the pause, little concrete progress has been reported toward ending a conflict that began on February 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.
The lack of a diplomatic breakthrough has left both sides in a holding pattern, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and global supply chains under strain. The disruption has contributed to higher oil prices, with Brent crude trading above $100 a barrel in Asian markets and having crossed the triple-digit mark for the first time in two weeks a day earlier.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it seized two vessels in the area and escorted them to Iranian shores, a claim corroborated by statements from the shipping companies involved and Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. The seized ships were identified as the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas and the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca. The Revolutionary Guards accused those vessels of operating without required permits and of tampering with their navigation systems.
Maritime security sources reported a third Liberia-flagged container ship in the same area had come under fire but was not damaged and had since resumed sailing.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in remarks to reporters that the president had agreed to a Pakistani request "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." She added that the administration had not set a deadline for the proposal or the discussions.
Leavitt later described the Iranian seizure of the two vessels as an act of "piracy" in an interview with Fox News, while also asserting that because the ships were not U.S. or Israeli-flagged, the action did not constitute a violation of the ceasefire.
The U.S. military said it had ordered more than 30 ships to turn around or return to port as part of a blockade intended to curtail Iranian maritime activity. Beyond the Gulf, U.S. forces have intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters, sources said, redirecting them away from positions near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Diplomatic efforts to restart formal talks have so far produced limited results. Pakistan - which has been acting as a mediator - had worked to convene discussions in Islamabad, but both sides failed to attend a tentative session scheduled on Tuesday, the day the two-week ceasefire was due to expire. An earlier round of talks in Islamabad, held 11 days ago, did not yield an agreement.
Key points of contention remain pronounced. The U.S. demand that Iran surrender highly enriched uranium and halt further enrichment aims to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, according to U.S. objectives. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful civilian purposes and insists on relief from sanctions, reparations for damage, and formal recognition of its control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has also tied broader ceasefire talks to a truce between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, making an end to that front a condition of progress in talks. The conflict has inflicted heavy human tolls: thousands have been killed across the Middle East, notably in Iran and Lebanon, where Hezbollah joined combat against Israel.
On Wednesday, Israeli air strikes in Lebanon killed at least five people, including Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil. That day was described as the deadliest since a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was announced on April 16.
Contextual summary
The seizure of two commercial vessels and continuation of a U.S. naval blockade signal a hardened posture along one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints. While the U.S. has temporarily paused attacks to allow mediators time to present proposals, Iran has not confirmed any truce extension and conditions the lifting of hostilities on removal of the blockade. The standoff has kept the Strait of Hormuz functionally closed and is contributing to upward pressure on global oil prices.