The IRGC released footage it says shows commandos boarding commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz while the Philippines confirmed 15 Filipino crew members on two seized vessels are "safe and unharmed."
President Trump ordered the Navy to target boats laying mines and said minesweeping would be intensified, even as U.S. forces interdicted Iran-linked tankers elsewhere. Diplomatic efforts continue amid a fragile ceasefire and rising regional tension.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has published dramatically edited footage it says shows masked commandos boarding two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating a weeks-long standoff in a vital global shipping lane.
The IRGC released video showing fast boats approaching the container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, commandos climbing ladders and moving through decks. Iran says it seized two of three vessels after they breached a blockade Tehran imposed more than seven weeks ago. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) had reported incidents involving three cargo ships in the area.
The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers said 15 Filipino crew members — 10 on the Epaminondas and five on the MSC Francesca — are being held by Iran’s forces but are "safe and unharmed," and their families are receiving government support.
President Trump wrote on Truth Social that he ordered the U.S. Navy to "shoot and kill any boat... that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz," adding that minesweeping operations are underway and will be expanded. U.S. officials have previously said Iran likely deployed sea mines in the strait using small boats.
Separately, U.S. forces carried out interdictions of Iran-linked "stateless" tankers elsewhere, including the boarding of the sanctioned vessel M/T Majestic X in the Indian Ocean and the M/T Tifani in the Indo-Pacific region. The Pentagon said these actions are part of global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks supplying material support to Iran.
Iran’s deputy speaker of parliament said Tehran has begun collecting transit tolls from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, depositing the proceeds into the Central Bank. Iranian officials said fees vary by cargo and risk and that revenues are being consolidated into a unified treasury account.
In southern Lebanon, journalists and officials reported that reporter Amal Khalil of Al-Akhbar was killed in an Israeli strike; the Union of Journalists said gunfire delayed ambulances trying to reach her. The Israel Defense Forces denied preventing rescue teams from reaching the scene. Ambassadors from Israel and Lebanon are due to meet in Washington for a second round of talks amid fears the fragile 10-day ceasefire could collapse.
Navy Secretary John Phelan left his post effective immediately; Undersecretary Hung Cao will serve as acting civilian leader of the Department of the Navy. Meanwhile, U.S. Central Command reported that U.S. forces have directed 31 vessels to turn back or return to port as part of the naval measures enforcing the blockade of Iranian ports.
Context: The Strait of Hormuz typically handles about one-fifth of global crude oil shipments. Disruptions there have wide-reaching implications for global energy markets and regional security.
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