WASHINGTON, April 20 -- A US destroyer yesterday fired on and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade a US naval blockade, President Donald Trump and the US military said yesterday.

Trump posted 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 blowing a hole in the engineroom."

"Right now, US Marines have custody of the vessel," the US president added, "and are seeing what's on board!"

The incident comes with tensions high in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, which has been virtually closed since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran ...