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Trump made the announcement as talks between the US and Iran looked increasingly uncertain, with a two-week truce set to expire on Wednesday, as ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports
Three container ships in the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked, according to agency reports, further raising the stakes as planned talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan failed to materialise.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) has confirmed two attacks in the last 24 hours, while the semi-official Iranian news agency, Tasnim, reported a third, according to news agency The Associated Press.
Both vessels have been “transferred to the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran for inspection of their cargo and documents”, according to reports by the semi-official news outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
The UKTMO has not confirmed the third attack.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy Command said in a statement that the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and the Epaminodes were “seized” for “endangering maritime security by operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems”.
“Epaminodes” likely refers to the Liberia-flagged Epaminodas container ship.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was confirmed as having carried out the first attack and the vessel was damaged in the process.
The UKMTO said a Guard gunboat did not hail the ship before firing. It said no one was hurt and there was no environmental impact.
Iran’s Nour News, however, reported that the Guard only opened fire on the ship after it had “ignored the warnings of the Iranian armed forces”.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency described the attack as Iran “lawfully enforcing its control over the Strait of Hormuz”.
The second attack was reported by the UKTMO as an outbound ship being “fired upon” and then stopped in the water.
The crew was reported as safe and accounted for, and the vessel has “no reported damage”.
It comes after Donald Trump has insisted he will maintain pressure on Tehran by keeping the US blockade of Iran’s ports active, despite extending the ceasefire which was due to expire on Wednesday.
In a series of social media posts on his Truth Social platform, the US president declared Iran’s economy was “collapsing” adding “military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!”
He also claimed Iran was losing half a billion dollars a day due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
He said: “They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to ‘save face’.”
Trump said if he allowed Iran to reopen the strait on their terms, there “can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!”
Trump also said the US military would continue its blockade of Iranian ports, and claimed the Tehran regime was “seriously fractured”.
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The US president’s combative messaging came after he announced he would extend the ceasefire with Iran late on Tuesday.
He said he had agreed to a request made by Pakistan to continue negotiations, saying he was waiting for Tehran to send him a “unified proposal.”
Pakistan’s leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had been making frantic efforts on Tuesday to get both sides to agree to further discussions.
But hopes faded as US Vice President JD Vance, expected to again lead US negotiators, called off a trip to Pakistan as Tehran refused to commit to attending.
The White House said in a statement that, in light of Trump’s announcement, Vance and the US negotiating delegation would not be travelling to Pakistan on Tuesday.
Sharif thanked the US president for extending the ceasefire with Iran, saying it would allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to proceed.
In a post on X, Sharif said he was expressing gratitude “on my personal behalf and on behalf of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir” for Trump’s “gracious acceptance” of Pakistan’s request to extend the ceasefire.
Sharif said he hoped both sides would continue observing the ceasefire and reach a comprehensive peace deal during the second round of talks scheduled in Islamabad, aimed at securing a permanent end to the conflict.
Pakistan’s leaders had been making frantic efforts on Tuesday to get both sides to agree to further discussions. Credit: AP
On Tuesday, Trump told ITV News that “one way or another”, we’re going to agree a deal with Iran as he said he was prepared to return to striking the country if the ceasefire expired without a deal.
Iran remained defiant, with a senior Iranian commander warning on Tuesday that neighbouring Arab countries should “say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East” if they allow the US to resume attacking Iran from their territory.
Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon. Twenty-three people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states.
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