US downplays Iran's seizure of European vessels, Hormuz brinkmanship continues
Submitted by
Sean Mathews
on
Wed, 04/22/2026 - 21:55
The financial impact of US and Iranian blockades is becoming evident as Gulf states seek access to US dollars
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz near Musandam, Oman, on 22 April 2026 (Reuters/Stringer tpx images of the day)
Off
The US downplayed Iran's seizure of two European-owned vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as both sides sought the upper hand in their rival maritime blockades, with a stalemate in negotiations to end the war showing no sign of breaking.
Iran attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday and escorted two of the vessels to Iranian waters.
The operations demonstrated that two months into the war, Iran’s small attack boats can still control traffic in the waterway, despite US claims that its navy has been decimated.
Iran escorted two vessels, the Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged cargo ship Epaminondas, and Francesca, a boxship owned by the Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company, into its territorial waters.
The seizures came after the US detained an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean earlier this week, sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil.
The Trump administration imposed a blockade on Iran in response to its wresting control of the Strait of Hormuz after it was attacked in February.
US Central Command said on Wednesday that it prevented 29 vessels from crossing its blockade, as Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that the US effort to boycott Iranian ports and vessels could soon “become global”.
But the Trump administration’s claims about the effectiveness of its blockade have been disputed by the maritime news site, Lloyd’s List, which reported that more than two dozen vessels, including tankers linked to Iran, have bypassed US warships in the Gulf of Oman.
White House downplays seizure
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed Iran’s seizure of the Greek and Geneva-owned vessels on Wednesday, saying it did not constitute a violation of the ceasefire because they are not US or Israeli ships, but “two international vessels”.
“The naval blockade that the US has imposed continues to be incredibly effective,” she said.
Iran said on Wednesday that the US blockade violated the ceasefire and it would continue to block other countries' vessels from exiting the Strait of Hormuz until it was lifted.
'Game on’: How Iran can exact a toll in the Strait of Hormuz
Read More »
"A complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade," Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said.
”Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not possible amid a blatant violation of the ceasefire."
The White House’s comments appeared to be aimed at preserving the fragile ceasefire with Iran. The truce between the two sides was set to expire this week, but President Donald Trump indefinitely extended it on Tuesday, saying he did so at the request of Pakistan, which has been acting as mediator.
Trump said the extension was necessary to allow Iran time to respond to US proposals, but Tehran disputed that framing, saying the US had made unreasonable demands that were not open to negotiation.
"The president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting I've seen today. Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander-in-chief," Leavitt told journalists on Wednesday.
While the fighting has stopped, the battle over who has the upper hand in the Strait of Hormuz appears to be sending jitters through some Gulf states: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, all of which rely on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil and gas exports.
'Many' Gulf states want US financial support
Trump said on Tuesday that the US was mulling providing financial support to the UAE, following reports that it requested a swap line. The financial instrument allows foreign central banks to exchange their currencies for US dollars when liquidity is tight.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent told lawmakers on Wednesday that the Trump administration was weighing providing emergency supplies of US dollars to “many” Gulf states, including the UAE.
He said that the move, which is effectively a short-term loan of US dollars, would benefit the US by preventing countries from selling assets denominated in US dollars. The UAE holds US debt in the form of treasuries as well as US-listed stocks.
"Swap lines, whether it's from the Federal Reserve or the Treasury, are to maintain order in the dollar funding markets and to prevent the sale of the US assets in a disorderly way," Bessent said.
"So, the swap line would benefit both the UAE and the US, and as I said, numerous other countries, including some of our Asian allies, have also requested them.”
War on Iran
Washington
News
Post Date Override
0
Update Date
Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19
Update Date Override
0