Fishing and cargo ships and ferries are pictured in the Gulf off the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. AFP
Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said that their naval forces stopped two ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz and directed them to Iranian waters.
The IGRC said its naval force "this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships".
In a statement, the force said the vessels "were seized by the IRGC's naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast".
The IRGC named the two ships seized as the MSC-Francesca and the Epaminondas, Iranian broadcaster IRIB said on Telegram.
It added that Francesca was linked to Israel while the Epaminodes lacked "the necessary permits" and had been "tampering with navigation systems".
Ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic showed the two vessels -- both container ships -- stopped near the Iranian coast on Wednesday.
It accused them of breaching its blockade of the route, imposed in the war that erupted on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iranian news agency Tasnim said the ship had "ignored warnings from Iran's armed forces".
British maritime security agency UKMTO separately said an Iranian gunboat fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, while a ship off Iran was also fired upon.
"The master of a container ship reported that the vessel was approached by one IRGC gunboat... that then fired upon the vessel, which has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said.
It added that the incident took place 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman and that all the crew were safe.
According to British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech, the vessel was sailing under a Liberian flag and "had been informed it had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz".
"Won't reopen Hormuz"
Iran said it would not reopen the Strait as long as the US naval blockade remained in place, calling it a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire between the longtime foes.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the Islamic Republic was appreciative of Pakistan's efforts to end the Middle East war but did not comment on a ceasefire extension announced by the United States.
US President Donald Trump had said on Tuesday that he was extending the truce following a request by Pakistani mediators and to allow more time for peace talks.
"A complete ceasefire only has meaning if it is not violated through a naval blockade," Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Wednesday.
"Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not possible amid a blatant violation of the ceasefire."
Despite the latest series of attacks on maritime traffic in the Gulf, a second round of US-Iran talks could take place within the next three days, the New York Post reported, citing Trump and unnamed Pakistani sources.
"It's possible!" Trump reportedly wrote to the Post in a text message when asked about the sources in Pakistan, who had told the newspaper that a second round could happen within two to three days.
Short link: