Iran ‘shadow fleet’ vessels bypass US blockade, Lloyd’s List reports

US Central Command has released images showing American forces patrolling near the Iranian-flagged vessel M/V Touska after Marines boarded and seized the ship.

In a post on X on Monday, CENTCOM said US forces searched the vessel’s container cargo after it attempted to violate the US naval blockade.

The photos shared with the post show US personnel and vessels operating around the ship during the operation on April 20.

CENTCOM said the vessel was intercepted and boarded by US Marines before its cargo was inspected at sea.

Iran’s lead negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran will not negotiate under threats and warned it has spent the past two weeks preparing new options on the battlefield.

“By imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump wants to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or justify renewed warmongering," he posted on X.

"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and over the past two weeks we have been preparing to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

The office responsible for preserving and publishing the works of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei has urged authorities to coordinate with it before naming streets or public places after him or members of his family.

The statement came after Tehran’s city council approved a proposal to rename Azadi Street in honor of Khamenei.

In a message posted online, the office said any such naming should first be coordinated with it and warned against “hasty actions” in the process.

Wall Street pulled back from record highs on Monday while oil prices surged as rising tensions over the Strait of Hormuz raised concern that the fragile US-Iran ceasefire may not hold.

All three major US stock indexes lost ground, and the Nasdaq ended a 13-day winning streak, which is its longest since January 1992.

The equity losses were modest, however, as investors remained hopeful that a deal between Washington and Tehran could still emerge.

Ongoing optimism about solid first-quarter corporate earnings also helped limit the sell-off.

“Without verification, any agreement is no agreement. It’s an illusion of an agreement,” he told The Telegraph, stressing that the IAEA is “the only” body capable of ensuring compliance.

He also warned that the world is at risk of a new nuclear arms race amid rising conflict and instability.

Grossi said global tensions could lead to a “crack in the system” of non-proliferation and trigger a domino effect in which “as many as 20 states” pursue nuclear weapons.

“There is talk about ‘friendly proliferation’... a world with 20 nuclear weapon states or more would be extremely dangerous,” he said, warning the international order is in a “very, very fragile position.”

Grossi said the current “atmosphere of fragmentation, conflict, polarization” could push countries to reconsider nuclear options if they feel insecure.