The ceasefire that Trump extended indefinitely on Tuesday lasted less than 24 hours before Iran’s IRGC launched its most significant maritime escalation of the entire conflict. On Wednesday morning, Iranian gunboats fired on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them, escorting them to the Iranian coast.
What Happened
Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them on Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the key waterway a day after US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports.
Iranian media said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was bringing the two ships to Iran after seizing them in the strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes in peacetime.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre reported early Wednesday that an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps gunboat had fired at a container ship 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman.
There was no radio warning before the boat “fired upon the vessel,” causing “heavy damage to the bridge” but with all crew reported safe. Three hours later, the UKMTO reported a second incident, 8 nautical miles west of Iran, in which a cargo ship said it had been fired on and was “now stopped in the water.”
Iranian state television later reported that the ships were in the Revolutionary Guard’s custody and being taken to Iran. It identified the vessels as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas.
Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency described the attack as Iran “lawfully enforcing” its control over the Strait of Hormuz. The semiofficial Nour News, Fars and Mehr news agencies then reported the Guard attacked a third vessel called the Euphoria, which had “become stranded on the Iranian coast.”
Why the Ships Were Targeted
CBS News confirmed that both seized ships attempted to transit out of the Strait of Hormuz with their Automatic Identification Systems turned off. The IRGC confirmed that the vessels “entered the area without proper authorization and allegedly tampered with their navigation systems.”
Sailing with AIS transponders switched off is a method used by vessels trying to avoid surveillance — typically associated with ships attempting to evade Iranian monitoring. From Tehran’s perspective, this gave the IRGC legal justification for interception.
From the shipping industry’s perspective, it reflects the impossible situation facing commercial operators: sailing with AIS on makes them visible targets; sailing without it gives Iran grounds for seizure.
The Market Reaction
International benchmark Brent crude futures traded 0.5% higher at $99.03 per barrel, paring gains after briefly surpassing $100. US West Texas Intermediate futures traded up 0.5% at $90.13.
The oil market’s response was immediate. Brent briefly breaking $100 on the news of the seizures underscores how sensitively priced global energy markets remain to any Hormuz incident. The ceasefire extension had partially stabilised markets; Wednesday’s attacks have reversed much of that stabilisation in hours.
What It Means for Talks
The standoff over Iran’s closure of the strait and the US blockade raised doubts about when or if talks would resume to end the crisis. The seizures represent an escalation by Iran’s leaders, who appear poised to drive a harder bargain with American negotiators after two other rounds of talks with the Trump administration ended in open warfare.
Iran’s civilian leadership signalled openness to talks on Wednesday morning. The IRGC’s ship seizures, which came hours later, send the opposite message — that Iran’s military command is tightening its grip on Hormuz as a negotiating lever, not releasing it as a goodwill gesture.
The gap between those two positions is the Iran war in miniature.
