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Trump: U.S. Navy Blows a Hole in Iranian Ship, Seizes Vessel — Tehran Threatens Response as Talks Remain Uncertain

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President Donald Trump said Sunday the U.S. “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom” of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship before seizing the vessel — marking the first known use of force under Washington’s naval blockade as Tehran threatens retaliation and critical ceasefire talks hang in the balance.

In a Truth Social post Sunday afternoon, Trump said the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the vessel, identified as the Touska, in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to breach the blockade, adding that “U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel” and are “seeing what’s on board.”

Video released Sunday evening by U.S. Central Command confirmed the encounter, showing repeated warnings issued over several hours, including an audio command ordering, “Vacate your engine room… we are prepared to subject you to disabling fire,” before the destroyer fired into the vessel’s engine compartment.

CENTCOM said the Touska was warned multiple times over a six-hour period while sailing toward Iran’s Bandar Abbas port before U.S. forces disabled its propulsion using the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 gun, after which Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded and secured the vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.

The seizure marks the first known forcible interdiction since the blockade went into effect April 13, following the collapse of Pakistan-mediated talks, which U.S. officials said had already forced at least 25 vessels to turn back without incident.

(Read more from “Trump: U.S. Navy Blows a Hole in Iranian Ship, Seizes Vessel — Tehran Threatens Response as Talks Remain Uncertain” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

First Cruise Ship Sets Sail Through Strait of Hormuz After Weeks-Long Closure by Iranian Regime

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The first commercial ship successfully sailed through the Strait of Hormuz Friday after Iran agreed to reopen the vital waterway following a weeks-long closure.

The Celestyal Discovery cruise ship cleared the strait, just hours after Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced the narrow waterway was once again fully open to all commercial vessels — after the Iranian regime had threatened to attack any ship that transited it following the launch of the US and Israel’s war on Tehran.

The ship departed Port Rashid in Dubai at 11:36 a.m. local time – becoming the first passenger liner to exit the shipping lane since the start of the conflict, data from shipping tracker MarineTraffic showed.

The vessel, which carries about 1,360 passengers, was reportedly empty when it traversed the strait.

It is headed to Muscat, Oman, where it is expected to dock late Saturday afternoon, according to CruiseMapper. (Read more from “First Cruise Ship Sets Sail Through Strait of Hormuz After Weeks-Long Closure by Iranian Regime” HERE)

Iran to Execute the First Woman Over Widespread Anti-Regime Demonstrations

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Iran’s barbaric regime is set to execute its first female protester over recent protests, one of an estimated 1,600 sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic in the past year.

Bita Hemmati is the first woman due to be hanged in relation to the demonstrations that broke out in January across the country and were viciously stamped out by government forces.

The regime accused her of numerous crimes, including using explosives and weapons, throwing objects such as concrete blocks, participating in protest gatherings, and disrupting national security, according to a Tuesday press release from the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

Her husband, Mohammadreza Majid Asl, 34, as well as two other men, Behrouz and Kourosh Zamaninezhad, who lived in the couple’s apartment building, were also sentenced to death following a hasty trial and their property confiscated.

A fifth defendant, Hemmati’s relative Amir Hemmati, was sentenced to almost six years in prison for “assembly and collusion against national security” as well as “propaganda against the regime.” (Read more from “Iran to Execute the First Woman Over Widespread Anti-Regime Demonstrations” HERE)

Iran Used Chinese Satellite to Target US Bases Before Attack that Took out Air Force Planes

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Iran secretly got its hands on a Chinese spy satellite to target American bases in the Middle East during the war, leaked military documents revealed.

Following its launch to space in 2024, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had acquired Beijing’s TEE-01B satellite, tasking it to monitor key US military sites in the region, the Financial Times reported.

Time-stamped records show some of the images were taken last month before and after Iranian drone and missile attacks on those very bases.

The logs indicate that the satellite, which was built by the Earth Eye Chinese company, had taken images of the Prince Sultan Air Base, in Saudi Arabia, on March 13, 14, and 15.

It was during that same timespan that Iran struck the American base, damaging five US Air Force refueling planes. (Read more from “Iran Used Chinese Satellite to Target US Bases Before Attack that Took out Air Force Planes” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

US Issues Final Threat to Ships That Violate Iran Blockade: ‘We will use force’

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By New York Post. The US military broadcasted a final warning to ships that they would be subject to the force of the “whole of the United States Navy” if they violated the full blockade of Iran’s ports, according to newly released audio.

The message, uploaded on social media by US Central Command, warned of severe consequences to all vessels attempting to enter or leave the Islamic republic’s ports as part of the American blockade that went into effect on Monday morning.

“The US has announced a formal blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas. This is illegal action,” the military said in the broadcast.

“All vessels are advised to immediately return to port if leaving and discontinue transit to Iran,” CENTCOM added. “Do not attempt to breach the blockade.

“Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian ports. Turn around and prepare to be boarded. (Read more from “US Issues Final Threat to Ships That Violate Iran Blockade: ‘We will use force’” HERE)

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Chinese oil tanker’s retreat from the Strait of Hormuz shows how Trump’s blockade is working

By New York Post. A sanctioned Chinese oil tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz — then was forced to double back and return to Iran after President Trump blockaded the vital shipping lane, according to ship tracking data.

The aborted voyage of the Rich Starry — a Malawi-flagged, Chinese-owned tanker that was blacklisted by the US in 2023 — shows how the US Navy successfully blocked the flow of ships carrying Iranian oil.

Since the war began, most vessels that have traveled out of the Strait of Hormuz have been loaded with Iranian exports — giving the cash-strapped regime vital funds.

So far, the US blockade on the eastern side of the Strait in the Gulf of Oman has stopped at least five ships from heading out into the open ocean, according to the trade analysis firm Kpler.

Iran has stifled nearly all other traffic through Hormuz, which previously carried 20% of the world’s oil, by threatening to attack tankers that don’t pay a ransom. (Read more from “Chinese oil tanker’s retreat from the Strait of Hormuz shows how Trump’s blockade is working” HERE)

Report: Iran Executions Hit Three-Decade High

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Two European non-governmental organizations (NGOs) published a report this week that found Iran conducted 1,639 executions in 2025 — an increase of 68 percent over the previous year, and the largest number of executions since 1989.

The report was the latest edition of the “Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran” prepared by Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty (EPCM), which are based in Norway and France, respectively. The report has been produced every year since 2012.

The two groups are generally opposed to the death penalty, but find Iran’s practices to be particularly objectionable, as the Islamic regime is usually “ranked first worldwide in executions per capita” — it sometimes takes second place after China — and has a much lower threshold for capital punishment than most other nations.

In her forward to the report, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh said the “worst form of execution” practiced by Iran are its political killings, which are often carried out at the behest of bloodthirsty pressure groups.

“This is precisely why death sentences should never be issued under the influence of public opinion,” she said. (Read more from “Report: Iran Executions Hit Three-Decade High” HERE)

Trump Ally Suspends Defense Agreement With Israel After IDF Fired Warning Shots At Country’s Peacekeeping Convoy

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has suspended the nation’s defense cooperation agreement with Israel amid the war with Iran.

Meloni spoke outside a wine industry event in Verona Tuesday, where she told reporters the Italian government “has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel in consideration of the current situation,” according to a Politico report.

The defense agreement was first established in 2003. It covers the transfer of military equipment and technology-related research between Italy and Israel’s armed forces, and it is set to automatically renew every five years, Politico reported.

The development comes amid rising tensions between Italy and Israel, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired warning shots at an Italian peacekeeping convoy in Lebanon on April 8, according to a Politico report.

“A logistics convoy of the Italian contingent, moving from Shama towards Beirut, was subjected to warning shots fired by the IDF about two kilometres from the base of departure,” the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, stated April 8. The peacekeepers were with UNIFIL, or the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

(Read more from “Trump Ally Suspends Defense Agreement With Israel After IDF Fired Warning Shots At Country’s Peacekeeping Convoy” HERE)

Iran Issues Dire Warning about President Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Blockade: ‘Forceful Response’

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By New York Post. Iran warned Sunday that military vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz would be a violation of the fragile cease-fire and face a “strong and forceful response” — following President Trump’s announcement of a blockade on the critical oil chokepoint.

Trump announced plans earlier Sunday to stop “any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave” the waterway until there’s a point where all oil is allowed to go in and out without obstruction from Iran.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy hit back, insisting it has “full control” of the Strait and that the waterway remains open for non-military vessels.

“Contrary to the false claims of certain enemy officials, the Strait of Hormuz is open for the passage of non-military vessels under smart control and management, in accordance with specific regulations,” the naval forces said in a statement, according to two semi-official Iranian news agencies.

The IRGC warned that any approach by military vessels toward the Strait would be treated as a violation of a cease-fire agreement. (Read more from “Iran Issues Dire Warning about President Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Blockade: ‘Forceful Response’” HERE)

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Trump announces blockade of Strait of Hormuz as prez blasts Iran for ‘WORLD EXTORTION’

By New York Post. The US will begin a sweeping blockade of the Strait of Hormuz at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, with President Trump vowing to fight back against Iran’s “WORLD EXTORTION” and ensure that no one paying tolls to the regime will get through the critical oil chokepoint.

US Central Command announced the halt to “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports” would be enforced “impartially” against all nations, no matter the point of origin.

“CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,” the combatant command said in a statement.

Trump said that the negotiations with Iran that concluded Saturday without a deal “went well,” but faulted the Islamic Republic for refusing to budge on its nuclear program, which he described as “the only point that really mattered.”

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump declared on Truth Social Sunday. (Read more from “Trump announces blockade of Strait of Hormuz as prez blasts Iran for ‘WORLD EXTORTION’” HERE)

Trump Hit with ‘Haunting’ Blackmail Theory Explaining His Iran Moves: ‘We’re not joking’

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Over the past month, President Donald Trump has dramatically escalated his administration’s war against Iran, culminating with his threat to destroy Iran’s entire civilization earlier this week, but according to Tucker Carlson’s independent media outlet, a “blackmail” operation could potentially be forcing the president’s hand.

The theory was outlined in a Friday morning newsletter from the Tucker Carlson Network, which pointed to a past incident that some have characterized as an attempted effort to blackmail a sitting U.S. president. Specifically, the newsletter cites claims made by political writer Daniel Halper in his 2014 biography “Clinton Inc.,” supported in part by sworn testimony given in 1998 to the congressionally established Office of Independent Counsel.

“Establishment media never reports this, but the Israeli government has a storied history of blackmailing U.S. Presidents,” the newsletter reads. “Perhaps the most jarring example occurred in the 90s, when Israel used recordings of a Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky phone sex session as leverage to pressure Clinton into releasing convicted spy Jonathan Pollard from prison. We’re not joking. That really happened.”

Evidence supporting the allegation that Israel had attempted to use phone recordings of Clinton and Lewinsky as “leverage” first emerged in 1998 after Lewinsky testified before the Office of Independent Counsel about her affair with the sitting president.

During her testimony, Lewinsky said that in early 1997, Clinton had told her “that he suspected a foreign embassy was tapping his telephones, (he did not specify which one),” just one month after then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Clinton in the Oval Office. (Read more from “Trump Hit with ‘Haunting’ Blackmail Theory Explaining His Iran Moves: ‘We’re not joking’” HERE)

Iran Holds Huge Victory Parade with Thousands Spilling onto the Streets of Tehran as Ceasefire Falls Apart

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Thousands of Iranians have gathered in the streets to commemorate the death of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei as hopes of a ceasefire with the US and Israel began to unravel.

Supporters of Khamenei held portraits of their deceased leader and waved the flags of the Islamic republic as they took part in rallies across the country after he died in the US-Israeli attack on February 28.

The celebration marks a 40-day mourning period – an important rite of passage for Muslims – since the former leader’s death.

A huge gathering took place in the capital, Tehran, where strikes have ceased since a fragile ceasefire came into effect on Tuesday night, as well as the northwest city of Urmia and northeast Gorgan.

But over a day since reaching an 11th hour agreement to halt attacks for two weeks, it looks on the verge of collapse, with major disagreements between the US, Israel and Iran over the terms of a deal. (Read more from “Iran Holds Huge Victory Parade with Thousands Spilling onto the Streets of Tehran as Ceasefire Falls Apart” HERE)