From NPR

Iran says it seized ships in Strait of Hormuz as U.S. blockade continues amid ceasefire

NPR | By NPR Staff

Published April 22, 2026 at 3:53 AM PDT

A man reads a newspaper with a front page article referring to anticipated U.S.-Iran peace talks, at a stall in Islamabad on Wednesday. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked President Trump for extending a ceasefire with Iran and indefinitely pushing back the end of the two week truce.

Updated April 22, 2026 at 1:25 PM PDT

Iran attacked at least three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, just hours after President Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran while continuing a U.S. naval blockade of the strait.

The standoff in the critical shipping chokepoint has put the possibility of U.S.-Iran peace talks in jeopardy.

Vice President Vance was due to lead a delegation to Islamabad for a second round of talks, but the plan dissolved after Iran said it would not be attending.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an online statement Wednesday that Iran welcomes dialogue but "breach of commitments, blockade and threats are main obstacles to genuine negotiations."

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator and speaker of parliament, said the ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime blockade, echoing other senior officials and advisers.

And Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier that "blockading Iranian ports is an act of war" and that the U.S. blockade and seizure of an Iranian ship over the weekend were ceasefire violations.

Here are more developments on Day 54 of the Middle East war:

Ships under attack in Strait of Hormuz

Three ships came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, putting the possibility of any peace talks in jeopardy, after a senior Iranian official said that President Trump's last-minute ceasefire extension "means nothing."

The first ship was attacked and damaged by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, though no injuries were reported.

"The Master of a Container Ship reported that the vessel was approached by 1 IRGC gun boat," according to UKMTO.

No warning was given, but it "then fired upon the vessel which has caused heavy damage to the bridge," the center said in a report.

Iran's semiofficial Tasnim News Agency confirmed the incident, saying the container ship had "ignored repeated warnings."

The UKMTO did not immediately say who was responsible for the attack on the second cargo vessel, only that there was no damage or injuries.

Fars news agency, another of Iran's semiofficial outlets, also reported Iran's Navy had attacked a third ship, the Euphoria. Iranian media reported that the Iranian navy had "seized" the two other vessels, identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas.

The attacks come after President Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran just hours before it was set to expire. Trump said he was doing so at the request of mediating country Pakistan and it would give Tehran time to present a "unified proposal."

Trump says Iran's economy is flailing

President Trump says Iran is in a dire economic crisis as the U.S. imposes its naval blockade on Iranian ports.

"Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!" Trump posted on Truth Social late Tuesday.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on social media that under Trump's orders, the U.S. Navy will continue the blockade of Iran's ports.

"In a matter of days, Kharg Island storage will be full and the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut in. Constraining Iran's maritime trade directly targets the regime's primary revenue lifelines," he said.

Iranians walk past a mural against Israel and the U.S., in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday.

He also said his office would continue to "systematically degrade Tehran's ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds."

U.K. and France hold a conference seeking a solution to the strait standoff

The United Kingdom and France are hosting a two-day conference starting Wednesday aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. One of the challenges is to remove undersea mines Iran is believed to have planted there.

Military planners from more than 30 countries are meeting at a Royal Air Force base north of London to put together a multinational mission to safeguard the Strait of Hormuz amid global concerns over oil and energy prices.

A poll in the U.K. shows 1 in 10 people are already stockpiling fuel.

British defense officials have previously floated the idea of deploying autonomous mine-hunting systems from motherships sent to the Gulf. But they caution that whatever plan they come up with at this two-day conference will only take effect after what they call a sustained ceasefire between Iran and the U.S.

International reaction

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres cautiously welcomed Trump's announcement of a ceasefire extension.

"This is an important step toward de-escalation and creating critical space for diplomacy and confidence-building between Iran and the United States," he said in a statement shared by his spokesperson.

"We encourage all parties to build on this momentum, refrain from actions that could undermine the cease-fire, and engage constructively in negotiations to reach a sustainable and lasting resolution."

China warned that the Middle East is at a "critical stage."

"The paramount priority remains to make every effort to prevent a resumption of hostilities," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news briefing Wednesday.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said in an online statement: "Daily U-turns, whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed, are reckless. Transit through the Strait must remain free of charge."

She said the EU was widening sanctions on Tehran, adding "none of us want to see a nuclear-armed Iran."

High jet fuel prices squeeze airlines

Meanwhile, the war and strait blockade are continuing to rattle global markets and push up costs, with the airline industry particularly hard hit.

On Tuesday, German airline Lufthansa said that because the price of jet-fuel had doubled since the start of the war, it was cutting 20,000 flights through October in an attempt to save fuel.

United Airlines has also been impacted, with Reuters news agency reporting the Chicago-based carrier had forecast second-quarter and full-year profits below Wall Street estimates.

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation says it is taking "a look" at Spirit Airlines at the request of Trump. Spirit filed for bankruptcy protection in August for the second time in less than a year.

Now soaring fuel costs tied to the Iran war are adding more uncertainty about the carrier's ability to keep operating. It's not the only one:last week a trade association for low-cost carriers sent a letter to Congress asking for temporary tax relief.

What are the major sticking points?

For officials in Washington, the main points of contention remain control over the Strait of Hormuz and the future of Iran's nuclear program.

Diggers remove the rubble of buildings destroyed in Israeli strikes as they look for survivors buried underneath in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on Tuesday. Israel's defense minister said his country's campaign in Lebanon relied on both military and diplomatic pressure to disarm Iran-allied Hezbollah. Though a truce between Israel and Lebanon took effect on April 17, Israeli troops are still present and actively fighting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon's south.

The Trump administration has said it wants commercial shipping through the strategic waterway to be fully restored. Around 20% of the world's crude oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait.

After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Iran began to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz. It has prevented most commercial ships from transiting and has collected steep tolls from some of the few that did.

Vice President Vance said the first round of ceasefire talks held over a week ago broke down because Iran would not commit to forgoing a nuclear weapon.

"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vance said.

For Tehran, the key demands for extending the ceasefire include an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and guarantees that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah will not resume.

Israel and Lebanon agreed on a 10-day ceasefire last week, pausing fighting between Israel's military and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israel and Lebanon are due to hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday.

Lebanon and Israel are set for talks in Washington

Israel's and Lebanon's ambassadors to the U.S. are set to hold their second round of talks in Washington on Thursday.

That's amid a shaky, 10-day ceasefire to pause the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.

Looking south from a hill atop the village of Majdal Zoun, you can see an Israeli flag waving in the wind over the neighboring Lebanese village.

Israel is still occupying a large area of southern Lebanon — including dozens of towns and villages.

Hezbollah spokesperson Salman Harb tells NPR that the Iran-backed group does not agree with direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon. But if the result of the negotiations is that Israel will withdraw from Lebanese lands, Harb says, then Hezbollah accepts that.

But on the other hand, he says, if the land remains occupied, the group retains the right to resist that occupation.

Lauren Frayer in Glasgow, Scotland, Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan, Kat Lonsdorf in Majdal Zoun, Lebanon, Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg, and Joel Rose and Alex Leff in Washington contributed reporting to this story.