Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had seized two container ships Wednesday in the area of the contested Strait of Hormuz, Iranian news media reported, hours after President Donald Trump announced that he was extending a ceasefire.

Earlier Wednesday, U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, a shipping monitor run by the British navy, reported that two ships had been attacked near the strait, one by a gunboat belonging to the Revolutionary Guard. Iranian news media reported that the Guard had targeted two cargo vessels, the MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, and the force’s navy later claimed to have seized the ships after they attempted to navigate “without the necessary permits.”

MSC, a global shipping company based in Geneva, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The attacks showed how both Iran and the United States were seeking to exert control over shipping in the area. Even as Trump announced the ceasefire extension late Tuesday, before it was set to expire, he said the United States would continue to block ships heading to and from Iranian ports — a move that Iran’s foreign minister called “an act of war.”

Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks was put on hold Tuesday because Iran had not responded to U.S. demands in the negotiations, a U.S. official said. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said Wednesday that Iran remained open to the idea of further talks but stood ready to defend itself militarily.

In a social media post, Trump said he had renewed the truce on a request from Pakistan, which is trying to mediate an end to the war. He said the ceasefire would remain in place until Iran’s “leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.”

Here’s What Else We Are Covering:

— Strait of Hormuz: In London, Britain and France were set to host military planners from more than 30 countries to “advance military plans to reopen the strait, as soon as conditions permit, following a sustainable ceasefire agreement,” according to a statement from Britain’s defense minister.

— Fuel prices: Germany’s Lufthansa Group said Tuesday that it would cut 20,000 short-haul flights through October, citing the doubling of jet fuel prices since the start of the Iran war.

— Lebanon: An exchange of attacks along the Israeli-Lebanese border on Wednesday put pressure on the countries’ already tenuous truce.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Adam Rasgon, Luke Broadwater, Jonathan Swan and Francesca Regalado/Arash Khamooshi
c. 2026 The New York Times Company