Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) made a bold move on Wednesday, seizing two commercial container ships in the crucial Strait of Hormuz just hours after President Trump extended the ceasefire with Tehran. The 15 Filipino seafarers onboard are now caught in one of the world’s most dangerous waterways as global oil traffic grinds to a halt. The Mediterranean Shipping Company’s MSC Francesca and the Liberian-flagged cargo vessel Epaminondas were intercepted while passing through the narrow Gulf chokepoint, which sees about 20% of the world’s oil shipments. The IRGC claims the ships “endangered maritime security” by sailing without proper authorisation and tampering with navigation systems. Both vessels were then escorted to Iran’s coast. Within hours, shipping data showed dozens of tankers and container ships either anchoring or diverting away from the tension hotspot, bringing traffic through the Strait to a near standstill. This marks the first time since the deadly 54-day conflict with Israel and the US kicked off in March that Iran has directly seized commercial vessels, instantly turning a fragile diplomatic pause into a full-blown crisis.
A Ceasefire Only on Paper?
Trump announced the ceasefire extension on his Truth Social platform Tuesday night, saying he was “giving Iran more time—not because they deserve it, but because the American people want peace.” But just eight hours later, Iranian speedboats surrounded the MSC ships, with Revolutionary Guard teams dropping from helicopters to storm the vessels and detain the captains. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, fired back on state TV, calling the ceasefire “meaningless” as long as US warships block Iranian ports. “Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not possible amid a blatant violation of the ceasefire,” he declared. A senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei echoed this stance, telling Iranian media the ceasefire “means nothing” while US Navy cruisers intercept every tanker leaving Bandar Abbas. Meanwhile, Trump went unusually silent on the matter, tweeting twice in the following six hours—once about mortgage rates and once about a Florida golf event—without mentioning the seized ships or the 15 Filipino crew members held captive.
