Iran Seizes Two Cargo Ships in Strait of Hormuz as U.S. Maintains Blockade and Trump Remains Silent on Next Move

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard released video footage showing commandos seizing two cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, according to multiple news reports. The seizure intensified regional tensions as the United States maintained a blockade on Iranian ports and President Donald Trump remained largely silent on his next move in the escalating standoff.

The Philippine government confirmed that 15 seafarers were aboard the vessels held by Iran’s forces but stated they were “safe and unharmed,” according to CBS News live updates. Iran’s state media posted the dramatic video of masked commandos boarding the ships, which Al Jazeera identified as a container ship among the two captured.

President Trump said little Wednesday about the Iran conflict, with the White House confirming he had not set a “firm deadline” for Tehran to respond to his demands for a peace deal. The administration stated Trump would “dictate the timeline” for the war to end, according to the same CBS News report.

Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to begin a second round of peace talks on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the White House, following initial negotiations on April 14. The talks, the first high-level discussions between the two countries since 1993, were set to include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, among other officials.

The Israeli military and Iranian-backed Hezbollah accused each other of breaching their fragile ceasefire ahead of the negotiations. U.S. Forces had also boarded another Iran-linked vessel in what CBS News described as a tit-for-tat series of ship interdictions in the Strait of Hormuz.