U.S. Marines of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) have, as part of the American blockade of Iranian ports, boarded a container ship in the Gulf of Oman. According to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian-flagged Touska bound for Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz. After it had ignored indications of the blockade for six hours, the destroyer halted it following a warning by firing at its engine room with its 127-mm gun.
Subsequently, the Marines of the 31st MEU boarded the vessel. The group had reached the CENTCOM area of operations at the end of March with the amphibious task group around the amphibious assault carrier USS Tripoli, coming from Japan. It is also expected that the 11th MEU with the task group around the USS Boxer from California will join. Together with a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division and various special forces deployed to the region, the Marines are expected to provide U.S. President Donald Trump with options for possible operations against the Iranian islands or the coast in the Persian Gulf, or to secure the country’s stocks of highly enriched uranium.
First Use of Marines in the U.S. Blockade
Currently, a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains in effect through Wednesday this week. After last Thursday, under American pressure, a ten-day ceasefire for Israel’s actions against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon was agreed, as demanded by Iran and Pakistan; the regime in Tehran announced on Friday the opening of the Hormuz Strait—the previously blocked passage—though only for civilian shipping and on routes designated by Tehran.
U.S. President Trump, who had welcomed the opening at first and had hinted at a lasting settlement, later stated that the U.S. blockade imposed in response would not be lifted. Tehran, for its part, characterized this as a violation of the ceasefire agreement, rejected any link between its measures and broader negotiations, and on Saturday reimposed its own blockade. Speedboats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps fired at least one Indian vessel attempting to pass.
Today’s incident marks the first time U.S. armed forces have forcibly boarded an Iranian vessel. Trump had threatened such measures worldwide in response to the renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The 295-meter-long Touska had already been sanctioned by the United States since 2022. According to ship-tracking websites, it had most recently visited the Malaysian port of Port Klang and previously Zhubei in China.
