United States and Iran tensions have sharply escalated after US forces seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel, Touska, in the Gulf of Oman. According to US officials, the ship attempted to breach an active naval blockade and ignored repeated warnings from the US Navy destroyer USS Spruance. American forces reportedly fired into the vessel’s engine room to disable it before US Marines boarded and took full control. US President Donald Trump said the ship was stopped “by blowing a hole in the engine room” and is now in full US custody.