IRGC Naval Command posted on social media that the two seized ships – the Epaminodes and MSC-Francesca – had “endangered maritime security by operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems”.
“Disruption of order and safety in the Strait of Hormuz is our red line,” the statement read.
The two seized vessels will have their cargo and documents examined, it added in an announcement reported by Iranian state television and warned that the navy is “monitoring” movements through the strait and vowed “firm” action against the “violators”.
The statement does not mention the ship Euphoria.
The captured vessels appear to have been part of a larger convoy belonging to the world’s biggest shipping company, MSC, which had been in the Persian Gulf since before the conflict began.
Four other vessels in the convoy have since crossed the strait, according to maritime data from Linerlytica. They appear to have turned off their transponders, which share a ship’s location, during the passage.
The interceptions come hours after US President Donald Trump extended a two-week ceasefire with Iran until talks between the two nations come to a conclusion.