{"id":412622,"date":"2026-04-23T00:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T00:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412622\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T00:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T00:29:10","slug":"iran-seizes-ships-in-strait-of-hormuz-ahead-of-possible-new-peace-talks-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/412622\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran seizes ships in Strait of Hormuz ahead of possible new peace talks \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran<\/a> seized two ships in the Strait of \u200bHormuz on Wednesday, tightening its grip on the strategic waterway amid reports that peace talks<\/a> could begin on Friday.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the ships seized, which they identified \u2060as the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and \u200cthe Liberia-flagged Epaminodes, \u2060were detained \u200cfor \u201coperating without the required authorisation and for \u2060manipulating navigation systems\u201d and were transferred to Iranian shores.<\/p>\n

The Greek-operated Epaminondas reported being fired upon off Oman. It said it had sustained damage to its bridge and that no one was hurt in the incident.<\/p>\n

The ship seizures represent a serious escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, where a battle for control of the vital waterway has emerged as a major stumbling block in negotiations to end the war.<\/p>\n

Following US<\/a> president Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s decision on Tuesday to extend the ceasefire, a second round of US-Iran talks could take place as early as Friday, according Trump and Pakistani officials, cited by the New York Post. Sources in Islamabad on Wednesday spoke about the possibility of discussions within \u201c36 to 72 hours\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trump said Tuesday\u2019s extension of the truce was to allow the Iranian regime more time to create a \u201cunified proposal\u201d to end the war. A US source on Wednesday said Trump had not set a timeline for the extension.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Trump\u2019s \u2018one-man WhatsApp group\u2019 diplomacy derailing Iran peace talksOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Also on Wednesday night, US navy secretary John Phelan was fired, a \u200csource familiar with the matter said, in another wartime shake-up at the Pentagon. It \u200bcomes just weeks after defence secretary Pete Hegseth ousted the US army\u2019s top general.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon said in a statement that Phelan was \u201cdeparting the administration, effective immediately\u201d, without providing further details. Reuters \u200bwas the first to report Phelan was fired.<\/p>\n

Trump has maintained a US navy blockade of \u2060Iran\u2019s trade by sea. Iran has said that as long as the blockade continues it will not lift its closure of the strait, which has caused a global \u200benergy crisis.<\/p>\n

United Nations<\/a> secretary general Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a> described the ceasefire extension as an important step towards de-escalation that will create \u201ccritical space for diplomacy and confidence-building between Iran and the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran is \u201cclosely monitoring developments\u201d and will take \u201cnecessary and appropriate measures to safeguard Iran\u2019s national interests and security\u201d.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s nuclear programme will be central to talks. Washington wants Iran to give up highly enriched uranium and forgo further enrichment to prevent it from being able to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran, which says its nuclear programme is peaceful, wants an end to the war, the lifting of sanctions, reparations for damage and recognition \u2060of its \u200bcontrol over the strait.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the region, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on \u200cWednesday killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded a photographer accompanying her, according to a senior Lebanese military official and Khalil\u2019s employer, the Al-Akhbar newspaper.<\/p>\n

There was no immediate comment from \u200bthe Israeli military on Khalil\u2019s death. Earlier, the Israeli military said in a statement it had received reports that two journalists were injured as a result of its strikes.<\/p>\n

The death of Khalil (43) brought the death toll on Wednesday to five people. <\/p>\n

\"AbbasAbbas Haj Ali at his flower shop that was damaged before the ceasefire by shelling in Nabatieh, Lebanon, on Wednesday. Photograph: Diego Ibarra S\u00e1nchez\/The New York Times<\/p>\n

Khalil and freelance photographer Zeinab Faraj were covering developments near the town of al-Tayri when an Israeli strike hit the vehicle in front of them. They \u2060ran into a nearby house, which was then also targeted by an Israeli strike, Lebanon\u2019s health ministry, the senior Lebanese military official \u200cand \u200cpress advocates \u200bsaid.<\/p>\n

Lebanese rescuers were able to retrieve Faraj, who had suffered a head wound, according to Elsy Moufarrej, who runs the Union of Journalists in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

When rescuers returned to help Khalil, the Israeli military dropped a sound grenade, \u2060blocking their access to the damaged building, Moufarrej and the \u200bsenior military official said.<\/p>\n

Lebanon\u2019s prime minister Nawaf Salam said the targeting \u200bof journalists and the obstruction of relief efforts constituted \u201cwar crimes\u201d.<\/p>\n

A second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon is due to take place at the White House on Thursday, with US secretary of state Marco Rubio in attendance.<\/p>\n

Lebanon has said it will ask for an extension of at least a month to the 10-day ceasefire, which expires on Sunday. Beirut is also seeking a withdrawal of Israeli troops, the return of Lebanese detainees being held in Israel and a delineation of the land border.<\/p>\n

Hostilities between Hizbullah and Israel reignited on March 2nd, when the Lebanese group opened fire in support of Iran. More than 2,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched an offensive in response to the attack.<\/p>\n

The Israel Defense Forces said two militants who crossed into Israel\u2019s self-declared security zone inside south Lebanon were shot and killed and another man was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Bekaa valley, in the latest violations of the truce. Israel also shot down what it said was a Hizbullah drone over southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

French president Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday a French soldier in the Unifil peacekeeping force, wounded in Lebanon, has died from his injuries after an attack attributed to Hizbullah. Another French soldier was killed in the incident on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"DisplacedDisplaced Palestinian children wait to receive food from a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Photograph: Eyad Baba\/AFP via Getty <\/p>\n

Late on Wednesday night, health officials said an Israeli air strike killed \u200cfive Palestinians, including three children, in the northern Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

Medics and civil defence officials \u200bsaid the five people were targeted by an Israeli strike near a mosque in Beit Lahiya, north \u200bof the enclave.<\/p>\n

There was no immediate comment from \u2060the Israeli military.<\/p>\n

More than 780 Palestinians have been killed \u200csince a US-brokered ceasefire \u2060deal took effect last October, according to local medics, while Israel says militants have killed \u200cfour of its soldiers. Israel and Hamas have traded \u200bblame for ceasefire violations. \u2013 Additional reporting: Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran seized two ships in the Strait of \u200bHormuz on Wednesday, tightening its grip on the strategic waterway…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412623,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[68227,969,9146,37635,1814,3409,4502,42,123265,11829,3410,3411,14396,43,4268,40,38,41,39,115,23242],"class_list":{"0":"post-412622","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-antonio-guterres","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-emmanuel-macron","11":"tag-energy-crisis","12":"tag-france","13":"tag-gaza-strip","14":"tag-hamas","15":"tag-headlines","16":"tag-hizbullah","17":"tag-iran","18":"tag-israel","19":"tag-israel-hamas-conflict","20":"tag-lebanon","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-palestine","23":"tag-top-news","24":"tag-top-stories","25":"tag-topnews","26":"tag-topstories","27":"tag-united-states","28":"tag-united-nations-un"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}