TEHRAN, April 20 -- Iran's military has vowed to respond after a US destroyer yesterday fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade.

"We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy and the US military," said a spokesperson for the military's central command centre, Khatam Al-Anbiya, cited by ISNA news agency.

He accused the United States of having "violated the ceasefire" that has been in place since April 8.

US President Donald Trump posted yesterday on Truth Social that after the Iranian vessel, Touska, ignored warnings to stop, the guided missile destroyer USS Spruance "stopped them right in their tracks by...