WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump told a dinner audience on May 1 that U.S. forces had seized an Iranian cargo ship, its cargo, and its oil as part of the ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports — comparing the operation to piracy and calling it “a very profitable business.”
“We took over the ship, we took over the cargo, we took over the oil,” Trump said during remarks at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida. “It’s a very profitable business. Who would’ve thought we were doing that? We’re like pirates. We’re sort of like pirates. But we’re not playing games.”
Trump appeared to be describing the April 19 seizure of the Iranian-flagged cargo vessel M/V Touska by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps forces in the north Arabian Sea — the most dramatic enforcement action of the blockade to date and the operation that prompted Iran’s military to accuse the United States of “maritime highway robbery.”
What Actually Happened: The Seizure of M/V Touska
According to the official CENTCOM press release issued April 19, guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at 17 knots en route to Bandar Abbas, Iran. U.S. forces issued multiple warnings informing the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade.
After Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room. Spruance then disabled Touska’s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into the ship’s engine room. U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, launched by helicopter from amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), then rappelled onto the vessel and seized it. The Touska remains in U.S. custody.
CENTCOM said U.S. forces “acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner to ensure compliance” and noted that since the blockade’s commencement, U.S. forces had directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port before the Touska seizure.
Trump’s description at the dinner matched the broad outlines of the CENTCOM account — the engine room warning, the shot that disabled the vessel, the tugboats, and Marines landing on top — though delivered with considerably more color. “Turn your ship around. Evacuate your engine room immediately,” Trump recounted. “And you see all these guys running out of there. Now, they’re five miles away, and one shot into the engine room blew up the engine room. The ship stopped. They used tugboats, and then we landed on top of it.”
The Blockade and Its Context
The naval blockade of Iranian ports began on April 13, 2026, when CENTCOM announced it would begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports, in accordance with a presidential proclamation. Iran responded by blocking nearly all ships from transiting the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint through which approximately 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass — except its own vessels.
The dual blockades have placed significant pressure on global energy markets and raised fears of a broader economic disruption. Oil prices have risen since the start of the conflict and the closure of Hormuz to commercial traffic.
The U.S. and Israel began military operations against Iran on February 28, 2026. Iran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. bases. A ceasefire took effect on approximately April 7, though the blockade has continued since. The most recent CENTCOM boarding occurred on April 28, when U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded M/V Blue Star III, a commercial ship suspected of attempting to transit to Iran in violation of the blockade. Forces released the vessel after confirming the ship’s voyage would not include an Iranian port call.
Trump’s Broader Remarks at the Dinner
The “pirates” comment was one of several notable statements Trump made at the Forum Club dinner. He said the U.S. could be “better off not making a deal at all” with Iran following the country’s submission of a new peace proposal to mediators in Pakistan. “Frankly, maybe we’re better off not making a deal at all if you want to know the truth, because we can’t let this thing go on,” he said.
Trump also mused about the prospect of the U.S. “taking over” Cuba on the way back from Iran, suggesting the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group could stop off shore. “They’ll say, ‘Thank you very much. We give up,'” he said
Earlier in the day, Trump sent a war powers letter to Congress arguing that the hostilities with Iran had “terminated” because of the ceasefire. “There has been no exchange of fire between United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated,” Trump wrote. The claim is disputed by members of Congress who note the blockade — which Trump’s own military has been enforcing with force — remains active.
Iran’s Response to the Touska Seizure
At the time of the April 19 seizure, Iran’s military called the operation “maritime highway robbery” and “piracy” — the same word Trump used to describe it on May 1 — and warned that Iranian forces would “soon respond to and retaliate against” the action No retaliatory action has been publicly confirmed as of May 1.