Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, April 18, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, April 18, 2026
US says it has turned 21 ships back to Iranian ports since start of blockade
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe US military says it has turned 21 ships around back to Iran since the beginning of its blockade of the Islamic Republic’s ports.
“Since commencement of the blockade, 21 ships have complied with direction from US forces to turn around and return to Iran,” CENTCOM writes on X.
Guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) patrols the Arabian Sea, April 17, as U.S. forces enforce the naval blockade on ships attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports. Since commencement of the blockade, 21 ships have complied with direction from U.S. forces to… pic.twitter.com/2Ro1lq6ORq
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 18, 2026
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