President Trump announced Sunday that a San Diego-Based warship fired on an Iranian cargo vessel that refused to honor the U.S. blockade.<\/p>\n
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the USS Spruance<\/a>, a guided-missile destroyer, intercepted the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska <\/a>in the Gulf of Oman and warned it to stop.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room,\u201d Trump wrote in the social media post. \u201cRight now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump said in his post that the Iranian ship is under U.S. Treasury sanctions because of a history of illegal activity.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command subsequently provided further details, saying the Spruance disabled Touska\u2019s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer\u2019s 5-inch MK 45 gun<\/a> into the cargo ship\u2019s engine room. <\/p>\n Marines from the forward-deployed 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.<\/p>\n A statement from Iran\u2019s military headquarters, quoted by the Al Jazeera<\/a> website, vowed to \u201csoon respond to and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, and in response the U.S. is blockading ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.<\/p>\n Since the blockade\u2019s commencement, U.S. forces have directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port.<\/p>\n