Iran shows off its control over strait after collapse of peace talks

Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday with video of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship, ​after the collapse of peace talks that Washington had hoped would open the world's most important shipping corridor, Reuters reported.

State television broadcast footage overnight of masked troops pulling up in a grey speedboat alongside the ‌MSC Francesca, climbing a rope ladder to a shell door in the hull and jumping through brandishing rifles.

The footage, presented with an action-movie-style soundtrack and no commentary, also included views of another ship, the Epaminondas. Iran said it had captured both on Wednesday, accusing them of trying to cross the strait without permits.

U.S. BOARDS ANOTHER TANKER

Washington, which has been confronting Iranian ships in international waters to enforce a blockade of its own, said it had boarded another tanker, the Majestic, in the Indian Ocean on Thursday. That appeared to be a reference to a supertanker, also called ​the Phonix, last reported off the coast of Sri Lanka carrying 2 million barrels of crude.

Iran, which has effectively blocked the strait to ships apart from its own since the United States and Israel launched the war ​in February, has been left in apparent control of the waterway since last-ditch peace talks were called off on Tuesday, hours before a two-week ceasefire expired.

Amid diplomatic efforts to restart ⁠the failed talks, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Thursday Iran could consider attending a meeting in Pakistan, but only if the U.S. blockade is lifted and seized Iranian ships are released.

In an early morning post on Truth Social, U.S. ​President Donald Trump said he had ordered the Navy to "shoot and kill" Iranian boats laying mines in the strait, and step up demining activity. His post did not mention steps to deal with the other means Iran has used to block ​shipping along the route: mainly speedboats, missiles and drones.

Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said the merchant vessels attacked in the strait had "faced the law". Iranian speedboats and marine drones were sheltering in sea caves off an island near the strait and keeping the U.S. Navy from approaching, he said.

The vice speaker of Iran's parliament, Hamidreza Hajibabaei, said the first revenue from a toll Iran was now collecting from ships using the strait had been transferred to the central bank. He gave no further details about who had paid it or how much.