The moment the Iranian-owned Touska ship was intercepted and ambushed by the US military

JAKARTA - The United States Navy (US) intercepted a ship named Touska with an Iranian flag in the waters of the Sea of Oman.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) showed the ambush in a video uploaded to its X account on Monday, April 20.

In the video, a number of US assault helicopters circle the Touska ship and one of them approaches the deck.

A number of US Marine soldiers then used ropes to descend to the deck of the ship to carry out their military operation against the cargo ship.

U.S. Marines depart amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) by helicopter and transit over the Arabian Sea to board and seize M/V Touska. The Marines rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel, April 19, after guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) disabled Touska’s… pic.twitter.com/mFxI5RzYCS

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 20, 2026

US President Donald Trump earlier through the Truth Social account on Monday, April 19, said that the Touska ship tried to break through the blockade. The US Navy then fired warning shots.

Trump claimed the crew refused to be blocked so the US drilled a hole in the engine room of the Iranian-flagged ship.

The ship was then seized by the US in the Sea of Oman under the pretext of violating sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department.