San Diego-based USS Spruance ‘blows hole’ in Iranian ship, Marines board

President Trump announced Sunday that a San Diego-Based warship fired on an Iranian cargo vessel that refused to honor the U.S. blockade.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the USS Spruance, a guided-missile destroyer, intercepted the Iranian-flagged container ship Touska in the Gulf of Oman and warned it to stop.

“The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room,” Trump wrote in the social media post. “Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel.” 

Trump said in his post that the Iranian ship is under U.S. Treasury sanctions because of a history of illegal activity.

U.S. Central Command subsequently provided further details, saying the Spruance disabled Touska’s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 gun into the cargo ship’s engine room.

Marines from the forward-deployed 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.

A statement from Iran’s military headquarters, quoted by the Al Jazeera website, vowed to “soon respond to and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military.”

Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, and in response the U.S. is blockading ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.

Since the blockade’s commencement, U.S. forces have directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port.

The development comes after Trump’s earlier announcement that U.S. negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks with Iran. That had raised hopes of extending a fragile ceasefire set to expire by Wednesday.

Updated at 3:20 p.m., Sunday, April 19, 2026