{"id":393126,"date":"2026-04-23T03:11:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/393126\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T03:11:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:11:12","slug":"iran-fires-on-3-ships-in-strait-of-hormuz-us-maintains-blockade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/393126\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran fires on 3 ships in Strait of Hormuz, US maintains blockade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them on Wednesday (local time), intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway. <\/p>\n

The attacks came a day after US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire<\/a> while maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n

The standoff between the US and Iran<\/a> has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the strait \u2014 where 20% of the world\u2019s traded oil passes in peacetime \u2014 with no end in sight. Iranian media said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was bringing the two ships to Iran, marking a further escalation.<\/p>\n

The conflict has already sent gas prices skyrocketing far beyond the region<\/a> and raised the cost of food and a wide array of other products. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, nosed over US$100 per barrel, marking a 35% increase from prewar levels, but stock markets still appear to be shrugging it off.<\/p>\n

The European Union energy commissioner, Dan J\u00f8rgensen, warned of a lasting impact for consumers and businesses, likening it to other major energy crises over the last half-century. He said the disruption is costing Europe around \u20ac500 million (NZ$991 million) each day. <\/p>\n

Iran holds firm in apparent tit-for-tat with US<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A ballistic missile is displayed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard during a pro-government demonstration at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Iranian media said the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas were being escorted to Iran. The US had earlier seized two Iranian vessels as the ceasefire talks were due to take place in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

Technomar, the management company behind the Liberian-registered Epaminondas, said it was \u201capproached and fired upon by a manned gunboat\u201d off the coast of Oman. It said the ship’s bridge had been damaged.<\/p>\n

A second cargo ship came under fire hours later, with no report of damage, though the vessel was then stopped in the water. No injuries to the crew of either vessel were reported. The MSC Francesca’s owner could not be immediately reached for comment.<\/p>\n

The Guard attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, which had become \u201cstranded\u201d on the Iranian coast, Iranian media reported, without elaborating.<\/p>\n

Footage released by the government showed its armed forces firing at the vessels. (Source: Other)<\/p>\n

There have been more than 30 attacks on ships in the Mideast since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28 with a surprise attack on Iran. Before then, the strait was open for all traffic.<\/p>\n

Vortexa, an analytics firm focusing on global energy and freight markets, said it has recorded 34 movements of sanctioned and Iranian-linked tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf in the week after the US imposed its blockade on April 13.<\/p>\n

The firm identified 19 outbound and 15 inbound movements. Six of the outbound movements were \u201cconfirmed laden with Iranian crude, representing about 10.7 million barrels\u201d, it said in an email.<\/p>\n

It was not immediately clear whether all those barrels reached markets overseas.<\/p>\n

It’s not clear when talks will restart<\/p>\n

\"Police<\/p>\n

Police officers stand guard at a checkpoint to ensure security in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s ability to restrict traffic through the strait \u2014 which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean \u2014 has proved a major strategic advantage.<\/p>\n

While the ceasefire means that American and Israeli airstrikes have stopped in Iran \u2014 and Tehran\u2019s missiles no longer target Israel and the wider Middle East \u2014 the maritime standoff continues and could escalate further.<\/p>\n

Without any diplomatic agreement, the attacks will likely deter ships from even attempting to pass through the waterway, further squeezing global energy supplies.<\/p>\n

The night before, hard-line supporters of Iran\u2019s theocracy held rallies in which the Guard showed off missiles and launchers \u2014 a sign of defiance to Israel and the US, which devoted much of their airstrike campaign to destroying the country\u2019s ballistic missile arsenal.<\/p>\n

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state TV that Iran has not decided whether to take part in a new round of negotiations with the US scheduled for later this week. He accused the United States of a \u201cdisregard and lack of good faith\u201d in the negotiations.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A ballistic missile is displayed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard during a pro-government demonstration at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian mission in Egypt, had earlier told The Associated Press that no delegation would go to Pakistan until the US lifts its blockade.<\/p>\n

In the Iranian capital, Tehran, many grappled with the uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should know where we stand. Is it going to be a ceasefire, peace, or the war is going to continue?\u201d said Mashallah Mohammad Sadegh, 59. \u201cThe way things currently are, one doesn\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another French peacekeeper dies after weekend attack in Lebanon<\/p>\n

In Lebanon, an Israeli drone struck the village of Jabbour, killing one person and wounding two others, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. Israel\u2019s military denied that it had attacked the area.<\/p>\n

A separate Israeli strike targeting a vehicle in the southern town of Tayri killed two people, NNA reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on that strike.<\/p>\n

The Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel from Lebanon days after the outbreak of the wider war, sparking heavy retaliatory strikes and an Israeli ground invasion. A 10-day ceasefire went into effect on Friday, but there have been several Israeli strikes, and Hezbollah claimed its first attack on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

French President Emmanuel Macron said a French peacekeeper who was wounded in an attack in Lebanon over the weekend had died of his wounds. Another French peacekeeper was killed in the attack on Saturday, in which the force came under small-arms fire in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Macron blamed the attack on Hezbollah, which denied involvement.<\/p>\n

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said contacts were ongoing toward extending the ceasefire. Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors plan to meet again on Thursday in Washington.<\/p>\n

Since the war started, at least 3375 people have been killed in Iran, according to authorities. More than 2290 people have been killed in Lebanon, 23 people have died in Israel, and more than a dozen have died in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members have been killed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them on Wednesday (local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,5107,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-393126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-middle-east","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}