Live updates: Iran seizes ships in Strait of Hormuz after Trump extends ceasefire

People gathered at Enghelab and Vanak squares in Tehran last night to participate in anti-U.S.-Israel demonstrations. Participants waved Iranian flags and chanted slogans, and the Iranian Armed Forces displayed ballistic missiles at the protest site.

Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images

Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images

Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images

Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images

Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for ‌Israel’s intelligence service and sharing sensitive information, the judiciary’s ​news outlet Mizan reported.

The man was identified as ​Mehdi Farid, Mizan reported today, according to Reuters. It said he had held a position in a civil defense unit within a sensitive organization and used that access to share intel with Israel's Mossad.

It comes just days after Tehran executed two men also accused of cooperating with Mossad and planning attacks in Iran, The Times of Israel reported, citing Mizan.

Human rights activists have long said that Iran convicts people in closed-door trials without allowing them to properly defend themselves.

Two ships Iran says it seized in the Strait of Hormuz this morning appear to be just off the Iranian coast, as the Revolutionary Guard claimed, according to ship tracking data.

But it's a different story for a third ship that semiofficial Iranian agencies say was fired on and now "stranded on Iranian shores."

MarineTraffic data shows that the Euphoria passed through the strait yesterday, south of the Iranian island of Larak, before making multiple turns on its way through the strait this morning, slowing to a a speed of less than one nautical mile per hour at around 5:30 a.m. ET.

The Euphoria's last transmitted position was around 40 nautical miles south of the locations of the Epaminondas and Francesca, just after 6:20 a.m. ET today.

The Euphoria was transmitting from a location between Oman and Iran, whereas the Epaminondas and Francesca were transmitting less than 10 nautical miles from the shore of Iran. They are the two ships that the Revolutionary Guard says it seized.

Three ships have been targeted this morning by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the semi-official news agency Fars has reported.

A Greek-owned ship named Euphoria is now stranded on Iran’s shores, Fars reported in a Telegram post.

Fars reported that the IRGC had also targeted two other "violating ships," MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, which it said belonged to the shipping giant MSC and had been attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The MSC Francesca at Hamburg port in Germany in 2018. Krisztian Bocsi / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

It said both had been "immobilized." The Revolutionary Guard said it had seized the Francesca and Epaminondas, according to the semiffocial Tasnim news agency.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center earlier reported two ships had come under fire in the strait.

After earlier reports that two ships had been fired on in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guard now says it has seized "two violating vessels."

The MSC Francesca and the Epaminodes "had endangered maritime security by operating without the required authorization and by tampering with navigation systems," the IRGC Navy Command said in a statement reported by state TV and news agencies.

The ships "were seized by the IRGC Navy and escorted to Iran’s coast," it said. "Disrupting order and safety in the Strait of Hormuz is our red line."

It said the Francesca was linked to Israel, without providing evidence.

It comes after Trump said he was keeping the U.S. blockade of Iran in place, and after U.S. forces seized an Iranian ship over the weekend before boarding another tanker linked to Iran's oil trade.

As of 5 a.m. ET this morning, 7 tankers or cargo ships have moved through the Strait of Hormuz in the preceding 12 hours, according to data collected by NBC News from MarineTraffic, a vessel tracking service.

Smaller special craft or tug boats were also present in the strait, along with three Iranian ships including a tanker.

Multiple ships transiting through the strait have had intermittent pauses in the transmission of the Automated Identification Signal (AIS), which the International Maritime Organization mandates for many ships, including container vessels and tankers, to ensure safety in the world’s waterways.

The Panamanian flagged cargo ship MSC Francesca had been in the Persian Gulf since April 18, before it maneuvered toward the strait and turned off its transponder. The ship reappeared this morning off the coast of Iran, east of the strait.

Likewise the Epaminondas, a Liberian flagged cargo ship was last detected in the Persian Gulf on April 18, heading toward the strait. It then stopped transmitting an AIS signal before it reappeared in the Strait of Hormuz this morning.

The Euphoria, a cargo ship sailing under the flag of Panama did not turn off its transmitter, and passed through the strait, south of the Iranian island of Larak on April 21, before making multiple turns on its way through the strait this morning, slowing to a a speed of less than one nautical mile per hour at around 5:30 a.m. ET, before picking up speed around an hour later.

The United Arab Emirates thanked Trump today for his mention of a possible currency swap with the Gulf country amid continued uncertainty around the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.

Still, in a statement issued by the U.A.E.'s Embassy in Washington, the country also sought to emphasize its economic resilience, saying that "any suggestion that the UAE requires external financial backing misreads the facts."

“The UAE is one of the world’s most financially resilient economies, underpinned by more than $2 trillion in sovereign investment assets; more than $300 billion in foreign currency reserves held by the UAE’s central bank; and a banking sector with approximately $1.5 trillion in deposits," it said, according to France 24.

It comes after Trump said yesterday that the U.S. was considering helping the U.A.E. financially, with a currency swap under consideration.

Military planners from over 30 nations will meet today and tomorrow at the United Kingdom’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in London to discuss a multinational mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.K. Military of Defense.

The sessions are meant to build on the progress of last week’s conference co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to coordinate maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz once the war ends.

Speaking on the summit, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said the point of it is to safeguard freedom of navigation in the strait.

“International trade, energy security and the stability of the global economy depend on freedom of navigation,” Healey said. “By building on our common purpose, strengthening multinational coordination and planning for effective collective action, we can help reopen the Strait, stabilise the global economy and protect our people.”

The U.S. did not redeploy a key missile defense system from South Korea to the Middle East for use in the war with Iran, a U.S. general said.

Reports last month that the U.S. had moved parts of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which is used for high-altitude interception of ballistic missiles, had raised concerns that U.S. ally South Korea could be more vulnerable to attack by nuclear-armed North Korea.

“We’ve not moved any THAAD systems, so THAAD still remains on the peninsula currently,” Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces in Korea, told a Senate committee hearing yesterday. “We are sending munitions forward, and those are sitting right now waiting to move.”

Brunson added that the U.S. had previously moved some radar components ahead of strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last June. “Some of those things have not come back yet, but the THAAD systems themselves remain on peninsula,” he said, adding that he expected them to stay there.

An Israeli drone strike killed one person and injured two others in Lebanon, according to state media.

The attack took place in Lebanon's Western Bekaa region, according to the country's National News Agency, despite an ongoing ceasefire agreement that went into effect last week.

Israel’s military denied that it had attacked the area, according to The Associated Press news agency.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard has warned that if fighting with the U.S. and Israel resumes it will "deliver crushing and unimaginable blows" to "remaining enemy assets in the region."

In a statement this morning, the IRGC said it remained at the "height of readiness and determination" and was prepared to confront "any threat or renewed aggression."

The warning comes after Trump said last night that he was extending the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely so its leadership could come up with a "unified proposal."

The IRGC said it believed that a "victorious Iran" had emerged as the "dominant perception of global public opinion."

Iran displayed what appeared to be a ballistic missile launcher during a rally in Tehran last night.

Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images

A large crowd can be seen in photos and videos rallying in Iran's capital during a pro-military demonstration.

What appeared to be a ballistic missile launcher could be seen being driven through the crowd as demonstrators chanted.

It came as the Revolutionary Guard vowed to deliver a crushing blow to U.S. assets in the region if fighting were to resume.

A second ship has now been “fired upon” this morning in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.K. maritime agency said. 

The cargo ship was leaving the area and is now stopped in the water, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.

All crew members on the ship were safe and accounted for, and there was no reported damage to the vessel, it said.

The agency added that it was “aware of high levels of activity” in the Strait of Hormuz. It did not specify who may have attacked the ship, but Iran earlier said it had opened fire on a container ship.

In a late night Truth Social post, Trump said that Iran is “collapsing financially” amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

“Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately,” Trump wrote. “Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day.”

Trump also said that the country’s military and police were not getting paid.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the U.S. extension of its ceasefire with Iran was a welcome development and a chance for de-escalation, his spokesperson said.

“This is an important step toward de-escalation and creating critical space for diplomacy and confidence-building between Iran and the United States,” spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.

“We encourage all parties to build on this momentum, refrain from actions that could undermine the cease-fire, and engage constructively in negotiations to reach a sustainable and lasting resolution,” he said.

Dujarric added that Guterres “fully supports Pakistan’s efforts in facilitating further talks.”

A container ship in the Strait of Hormuz was attacked by an Iranian gunboat, the U.K. maritime agency said this morning.

The ship was approached by a boat belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which “fired upon the vessel,” causing “heavy damage to the bridge,” the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

All crew members were safe, and there was no fire or environmental impact reported, it said.

Iran's Nour News, an outlet linked to the Revolutionary Guard, said that "a container ship that ignored warning was fired on by the Iranian armed forces and led to extensive damage to the ship."