TEHRAN (Agencies) - Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters has confirmed an attack by the US military on a ship in the Gulf of Oman in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Tehran vowed to retaliate "soon" against what it describes as "maritime piracy" following the seizure of the Iranian-flagged vessel.
"The aggressive America, by violating the ceasefire and committing maritime piracy, attacked one of Iran's commercial ships in the waters of the Sea of Oman by firing upon it and disabling its navigation system," the military headquarters said.
It further confirmed that the ship, which was reportedly heading from China to Iran, has been seized after the US deployed "several of its terrorist marines on the deck of the mentioned vessel".
“ARMED ROBBERY”
Iran's top joint military command warned that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond to this "armed robbery" by the US military.
Iranian officials also claimed that following the incident, Iranian forces attacked some US military ships with drones.
"We warn that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to and retaliate against this armed piracy," the statement added.
Iran's state-run media maintains the incident is a direct violation of the ceasefire.
IRAN’S MILITARY VOWS SWIFT RESPONSE
The Iranian military headquarters said the attack and subsequent boarding of the Iranian vessel by U.S. forces was a violation of the ceasefire and an act of “maritime piracy,” according to Iran’s state-run broadcaster.
The United States says it fired on the ship and seized it because it had crossed the blockade line after ignoring multiple warnings.
There has been no comment from Iranian officials on Trump’s announcement of new talks in Pakistan this week.
But Iranian state media, without citing anyone beyond unnamed sources, issued brief reports on Sunday suggesting the talks would not happen. The reports came before the U.S. announcement of its seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz.