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The mysteries of the Iranian ship captured by the United States: It was loaded with Chinese weapons!

2026-04-22 17:38:16Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The mysteries of the Iranian ship captured by the United States: It was loaded
The mysteries of the Iranian ship captured by the United States

The ship interferes in negotiations: for Washington it violated the embargo. Tehran denies: "An act of piracy, the sailors are hostages"

It's a mystery that casts a long shadow over an already precarious negotiating table. The capture of the MV Touska, the Iranian vessel seized by the US, is at the center of the standoff between the parties on the turbulent eve of a summit in Islamabad, which remains in doubt.

The White House has taken responsibility for the action against the cargo ship carrying "military components," while Donald Trump has pointed the finger at China: "It was a gift from them, not a very nice one."

Tehran, on the contrary, has accused the US of "piracy" in "blatant violation of the ceasefire" and has raised the alarm for the crew, whose fate remains unclear.

But let's take things one step at a time. An Iranian-flagged cargo ship was seized by US forces last Sunday, April 19. The container ship belongs to a subsidiary of a sanctioned Iranian state-owned company, Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL). It was headed to Iran after being in China last month.

The ship was sailing towards the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, defying a blockade imposed by the United States. Footage released by the US Central Command on Monday showed US Marines boarding the ship in the middle of the night after repeated warnings were ignored. The collision took place in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, where tensions remain high due to the dual blockade of the sea lanes.

As part of the blockade imposed by Washington, Centcom has mentioned metals, pipes and electronic components among the goods that could have dual use, both military and industrial, and that could be confiscated. Government sources cited by the New York Times and other US media claim that the ship was carrying “dual use” technology, that is, with potential military use, without going into details. Washington had imposed sanctions on IRISL since 2019, calling it “the preferred transport company for Iranian supply networks.”

The Iranian reaction came late and was made public yesterday, with the Foreign Ministry condemning the incident as an “act of piracy and violation of international law.” It also linked the seizure to the reluctance to send a delegation to Islamabad: “We have no trust.”

In the evening, Minister Araghchi confirmed that the issue was at the center of tensions: "The naval blockade was a war crime and a violation of the ceasefire. And the seizure, an even greater violation."

Tehran demanded the immediate release of the ship, the sailors and their families, whom it described as "hostages".

As for the crew, the information is unclear: Touska has an Iranian captain and sailors, but it is not known whether the entire crew is of Iranian nationality. It is known that some IRISL ships also use Pakistani sailors.

Behind the US president's sarcastic comments about "a Chinese gift, not very nice" lies another mystery of this event. According to data from the Marine Traffic website, the ship had been anchored in the Chinese port of Taicang, north of Shanghai, on March 25, and had arrived in the port of Gaolan, in southern China, between March 29 and 30.

According to satellite analysis by the company SynMax, the ship loaded containers in Gaolan and then made a stop at Port Klang, Malaysia, on April 11-12, where it picked up additional cargo. So the ship was loaded when it arrived in the Gulf of Oman on Sunday. But with what? A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed concern about the “forced US interference with the Iranian-flagged merchant ship.”

Since the start of the conflict on February 28, US intelligence has repeatedly signaled that China could be supplying Iran with military materials, an accusation that Beijing has vehemently denied. / La Repubblica


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