Only hours after Trump’s ceasefire pledge, Iran fires on three ships in Strait of Hormuz

Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, only hours after President Donald Trump announced he would extend a tentative ceasefire with Iran.

The attacks occurred in the early morning hours of April 22, 2026, according to multiple international news agencies reporting from the region. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy opened fire on a container ship in the strait, a vital global shipping route through which approximately 20 percent of the world’s traded oil passes during peacetime.

A second vessel was attacked shortly afterward, and semi-official Iranian outlets including Nour News, Fars, and Mehr later reported that the Guard targeted a third vessel, which they described as having become “stranded” off Iran’s coast.

Iranian media also reported that forces seized two of the ships and were bringing them to Iran. The specific vessels identified were the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, which Iranian state media said were being escorted to Iranian ports following the seizures.

The timing of the attacks complicates already fragile diplomatic efforts, coming just hours after President Trump announced via social media that he had agreed to extend the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely at the request of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been mediating talks toward a permanent peace deal.

Trump stated in his announcement that the decision was made because the Iranian government is “seriously fractured,” though he provided no further details on the internal divisions he referenced.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) confirmed the initial attack on the container ship and reported the subsequent incident involving the second vessel, providing independent verification of the maritime aggression.

Despite the ceasefire extension, the United States maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports, which has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the Strait of Hormuz. The standoff has already sent global energy prices surging, with Brent crude oil exceeding $100 per barrel — a 35 percent increase from prewar levels — contributing to broader inflation in food and other goods worldwide.

The European Union energy commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, warned that the disruption is costing Europe approximately 500 million euros ($600 million) each day, likening the economic impact to other major energy crises of the past half-century.

White House officials said the ship seizures did not violate the terms of the ceasefire agreement, maintaining that the U.S. Blockade remains in place as part of ongoing pressure on Iran despite the temporary halt to direct military hostilities.

Since the conflict began on February 28, 2026, with U.S. And Israeli airstrikes on Iran, there have been more than 30 attacks on commercial vessels in the Middle East, marking a sustained campaign of maritime pressure that has disrupted global shipping lanes and heightened fears of a broader regional confrontation.