The White House on Monday shared a cryptic message in a post on X. The message read, “LOCKED IN MODE: ACTIVATED. It’s Monday. No excuses. Just wins.” The message came after US President Donald Trump said American forces had intercepted and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel, the Touska, as part of a naval blockade.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the ship failed to respond to repeated warnings and was stopped by force.

According to Trump, the US Navy destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the vessel in the Gulf of Oman after it ignored orders to halt. He said, “The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room.”

Trump added that US Marines boarded the vessel and took control. “Right now, US Marines have custody of the vessel. The TOUSKA is under US Treasury Sanctions because of its prior history of illegal activity,” he wrote.

What CENTCOM said

The US Central Command confirmed the operation and said the ship was intercepted in the north Arabian Sea while heading toward Bandar Abbas. CENTCOM said the vessel travelled at 17 knots and ignored repeated warnings issued over six hours.

The command stated, “US forces acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner.” It also said that since the blockade began, at least 25 commercial vessels had been turned back or redirected.

CENTCOM released video footage showing the interception and boarding of the vessel near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s response

Iran first rejected the US claim and said its forces had pushed back American troops. However, it later confirmed that one of its commercial ships had been seized.

In an official statement, Iran said, “The aggressive America, by violating the ceasefire and committing maritime piracy, attacked one of Iran’s commercial ships by firing upon it and disabling its navigation system.”

Iran’s military accused the US of breaching a ceasefire that is due to expire on Wednesday. It stated, “The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military.”