Iran warned of retaliation, saying the United States violated a truce after U.S. forces fired on an Iranian merchant ship that tried to break through the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Reuters on the 20th, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which oversees Iran's military operations, claimed that U.S. forces violated the truce by firing at an Iranian merchant ship in the Gulf of Oman that day.
A Spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya said through Iranian state media, "We warn that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond to and retaliate against this 'armed act of piracy' by U.S. forces."
Iranian state media said the merchant ship was en route from China to Iran at the time.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media, Truth Social, the previous day, "Today, an Iranian cargo ship named 'Tuska,' about 900 feet (about 275 meters) long and as heavy as an aircraft carrier, tried to break through our naval blockade and it did not go well," adding, "Our Navy warship put a hole in the engine room and stopped it."