STRAIT OF HORMUZ — The United States transferred 22 crew members from the Iranian container ship Touska to Pakistan for repatriation to Iran, officials confirmed. The handover followed the seizure of the vessel by US forces in the Gulf of Oman in the early hours of April 20 after Washington declared a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Pakistan's foreign ministry confirmed the transfer of the crew and said the sailors would be returned to Iranian authorities. Islamabad described the transfer as a confidence-building measure. "The crew has been handed over for repatriation," Captain Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said.

According to CENTCOM, the USS Spruance fired its 5-inch deck gun at the Touska's engine room, disabling it shortly after midnight local time in Iran. The US military said the vessel, a small container ship operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, was attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz en route to Bandar Abbas.

US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded and captured the Touska near Chabahar port after repeated warnings over six hours. Video released by the US military showed Marines descending from helicopters launched from the USS Tripoli and securing the vessel.

Iran condemned the capture as a violation of international law and an act of piracy. Iran had effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz following the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, and its Revolutionary Guard published a new map outlining an expanded zone of control stretching from Iranian and Omani territory to include the territorial waters of the UAE. Iran also warned shipping not to attempt to pass through the strait without coordinating with the IRGC.

State media reported that two Iranian missiles struck a US naval vessel near Jask Island after the vessel ignored warnings from the IRGC to turn back. Washington dismissed the reports as false. A US naval operation dubbed Project Freedom was announced to help guide stranded vessels through the strait.

"Attacking an Iranian ship's engine is an act of war as well," Iranian analyst Foad Izadi said. He said targeting and seizing ships along the Strait of Hormuz undermined any notion of a truce.

"Any attempt to open the strait will likely be met with resistance from Iran," maritime security expert Alexandru Hudisteanu said. He said Tehran views control of the waterway as its primary leverage in negotiations and warned that the situation carries a high risk of miscalculation with both sides operating in close proximity.