Iran attacks 3 ships hours after Trump announces ceasefire extension – National
Iran fired on three warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, intensifying its attacks on ships in waters critical to global energy supply and complicating faltering efforts to bring the United States and Iran together for talks to end the war.
The attack was carried out by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, according to Iranian media, which reported that the forces seized two ships and brought them to Iran.
That matched the rise of Iran’s leaders, who appeared ready to negotiate with US negotiators after US President Donald Trump said the US would permanently extend a ceasefire with Iran that was due to end on Wednesday.
Despite the extension, Trump appeared to be on the inside, saying the US would continue to block Iranian ports.
That set the stage for continued disruption to traffic in the crisis, through which 20 percent of the world’s peacetime oil and natural gas flows, even if the ceasefire holds.
Already the conflict has sent fuel prices soaring across the region and raised the cost of food and a host of other products. If the limit remains closed, the consequences will be severe and widespread – and it will take a long time for the economy to recover.
Iran opened fire on a container ship in the port on Wednesday morning, and a second one was attacked a short time later, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center.
Iranian state television later reported that both ships had been attacked by the Revolutionary Guards and were under military command and taken to Iran.
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The Nour News, Fars and Mehr news agencies then reported that the security forces had attacked a third ship, which they said had “flooded” off the coast of Iran, without elaborating.
There have been more than 30 attacks on ships in the Mideast since the war began on February 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran.
Iran’s ability to restrict shipping traffic – from the Persian Gulf to the open sea – has proved a huge strategic advantage.
Although the ceasefire means that US and Israeli airstrikes have stopped in Iran – and Tehran’s missiles are no longer targeting Israel and the wider Middle East – the attacks on Iranian strait ships and the previous blockade of Iranian ships show that the maritime threat remains.
Without any diplomatic agreement, such an attack could prevent ships from even attempting to pass through the waterway, and further depress world power. Wednesday’s attack saw Brent crude, the international benchmark, rise to around $100 a barrel, up more than 35 percent since the war began.
As the attack continued, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed to “deliver the most devastating blows the enemy could imagine on their remaining assets in the area.”
The night before, hard-line supporters of the Iranian regime held rallies where security guards displayed missiles and explosives – a sign of disrespect to Israel and the US, which has devoted much of its airstrikes campaign to destroying the region’s missile arsenal.
It is not clear when the talks might resume. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, acknowledged that Trump was extending the ceasefire in remarks reported Wednesday by Iranian state television but did not specifically say that Tehran was ready to attend a new round of talks.
Earlier, Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran’s mission in Egypt, told the Associated Press that no delegation will go to Pakistan until the US lifts its blockade.
Two Pakistani officials told the AP that Islamabad is still waiting to hear from Tehran when it will send the delegation. They spoke on the condition that their names not be revealed because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
In Lebanon, where war broke out between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah after the US and Israel launched their first strikes, the National News Agency said an early morning Israeli strike on the village of Jabbour killed one and wounded two others.
Israeli forces have denied attacking the area.
A 10-day ceasefire went into effect in Lebanon on Friday, but there have been several Israeli strikes and Hezbollah claimed its first attack on Tuesday.
Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, according to authorities. More than 2,290 people have been killed in Lebanon, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in the Gulf Arab countries. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US personnel in the entire region were killed.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
