On Wednesday, the White House made clear that former U.S. President Donald Trump does not classify Iran’s forced seizure of two commercial vessels near the strategic Strait of Hormuz as a violation of the extended bilateral ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt laid out the administration’s position during an interview on Fox News, emphasizing the targeted ships were neither U.S.-flagged nor Israeli-owned, but rather two commercial vessels operating under international registration.
Leavitt launched sharp criticism of Iran’s actions in the incident, framing the operation as outright maritime piracy. She claimed that Iran’s once-dominant regional naval force has devolved into acting like organized pirate gangs, adding that Iran has no legitimate claim to exclusive control over the busy international waterway that carries nearly a fifth of the world’s annual oil trade.
The confrontation developed after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced earlier the same day that it had detained the two ships, justifying the action by stating the vessels were operating without valid navigational authorization, had repeatedly violated local maritime regulations, and were tampering with their official positioning systems to avoid detection.
According to Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency, the IRGC conducted a third interdiction operation the same day, targeting a Greek-owned bulk carrier named the Euphoria that the force labeled another rule-breaking vessel transiting the strait. The Euphoria was disabled in the operation and has since run aground along Iran’s coastline, leaving the ship and its crew stranded in Iranian territorial waters.
The Strait of Hormuz has long been one of the world’s most geopolitically tense chokepoints, with repeated encounters between Iranian security forces and commercial shipping dating back to heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program and regional rivalries. The incident comes amid a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran that had been extended in recent weeks to de-escalate tensions across the Persian Gulf region.