In what Iran framed as a symmetrical response to US seizure of the Touska and boarding of the Tifani, the IRGC Navy targeted three commercial vessels in and near the Strait of Hormuz. IRGC speedboats were filmed racing toward and boarding the MSC Francesca - a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship that the IRGC Navy described as linked to Israel - and the Epaminondas, a Liberian-flagged cargo ship owned by a Greek shipping company. Both had been detected in the Persian Gulf since at least April 18 before maneuvering toward the strait and turning off their AIS transponders. Both reappeared in the strait Thursday morning before being intercepted. The IRGC Navy said: "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval force this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships. The two offending ships had endangered maritime security by operating without the required authorization and by tampering with navigation systems." Both were "seized by the IRGC Navy and escorted to Iran's coast" for cargo and document inspection. The IRGC stated "disrupting order and safety in the Strait of Hormuz is our red line." The Greek-owned Euphoria was separately fired upon and reported stranded on the Iranian coast, per semiofficial Fars News Agency. UKMTO confirmed a Revolutionary Guard gunboat fired on a vessel without prior radio hailing - nobody was hurt in that incident. Panama's Foreign Ministry condemned the seizures as "a grave attack against maritime security and constitute an unnecessary escalation." CENTCOM confirmed Wednesday night that 31 vessels had been directed to turn around or return to Iranian ports since the blockade began - up from 27 on Monday. An Iranian oil tanker separately entered Iran's territorial waters after passing through the Arabian Sea despite what Iran called US warnings, escorted by Iranian navy.

April 22 was the original ceasefire expiry date - but Trump's Monday indefinite extension meant the truce continued without a new deadline. The US naval blockade remained in full effect. The maritime escalation - IRGC seizing two vessels the same day - operated in parallel with the diplomatic ceasefire without either side formally declaring the ceasefire broken. Iran's posture: Ghalibaf stated publicly that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was "impossible" given the US naval blockade and "Zionist warmongering across all fronts." Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar that the US "continued violations of the ceasefire" remained a major obstacle to the continuation of the diplomatic process. The Iranian Foreign Ministry separately described the US naval blockade as "an act of war." The IRGC framed its vessel seizures as "lawful enforcement" of Hormuz sovereignty. US officials maintained the blockade was both legal and in effect. Seven tankers or cargo ships transited Hormuz in the preceding 12 hours as of 5am ET Wednesday - a minimal but non-zero flow indicating partial commercial access. Iran's Supreme National Security Council maintained it would not engage diplomatically while the blockade remained. No second round of US-Iran talks had been scheduled or confirmed.

Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, a reporter for the daily Al-Akhbar newspaper, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Al-Tayri village, southern Lebanon, while taking cover in a house during reporting on the Israel-Hezbollah war. The strike occurred during the 10-day ceasefire that was supposed to have paused hostilities. The IDF said it "identified two vehicles in southern Lebanon that had departed from a military structure used by Hezbollah" and that individuals "crossed the Forward Defense Line and approached the troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat." The IAF struck one vehicle; subsequently the structure from which they fled was also struck - the house where Khalil was sheltering. Her colleague Zeinab Faraj was wounded in the attack. Lebanese authorities said Khalil was "directly targeted" and accused Israel of "deliberately and consistently targeting journalists to conceal the truth of its aggressive acts." In a particularly grave development, the Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed that rescue workers who arrived to help were obstructed: IDF forces fired a stun grenade at the ambulance and targeted it with gunfire, preventing the humanitarian mission from reaching Khalil. The Lebanese Red Cross ultimately found her body buried under rubble. Lebanese President Aoun's office described the targeting of journalists as "crimes against humanity." PM Salam condemned the killing as "war crimes" on X. Israel said it did not "deliberately target journalists." Hezbollah launched retaliatory rocket fire into northern Israel following the killing, with Israel responding by striking the rocket launchers. The incident was the most significant press freedom violation of the Lebanon campaign and drew widespread international condemnation.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf delivered a statement formally declaring that reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic under current conditions was "impossible." He cited the ongoing US naval blockade and "Zionist warmongering across all fronts" - specifically the Israeli strikes in Lebanon - as the twin conditions that made any Hormuz opening untenable from Iran's perspective. Ghalibaf's statement served a dual purpose: it aligned with the IRGC's vessel seizures earlier in the day, providing political cover for the maritime escalation, and it set out Iran's minimum conditions for any future Hormuz opening: US must lift the naval blockade and Israel must cease operations in Lebanon. The IRGC Navy's official statement described the vessel seizures as enforcement of established protocols - vessels had "operated without the required authorization and by tampering with navigation systems." Iran's position was clear: Hormuz sovereignty was non-negotiable and the tit-for-tat approach - matching each US naval action with an Iranian one - would continue as long as the blockade was maintained.

An Israeli drone strike in northern Gaza killed five Palestinians, including three children, compounding the regional humanitarian crisis. The attack occurred under the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire framework - which both Israel and Hamas had repeatedly accused each other of violating. The strikes came amid already heightened tensions following UNICEF's condemnation over the Monday killing of two Gaza water truck drivers. Over 750 Palestinians had been killed since the October 2025 ceasefire deal took effect, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, with ongoing Israeli strikes and Hamas attacks continuing to erode what remained of the truce. The Gaza conflict runs parallel to but distinct from the US-Iran-Israel war - both fronts compounding the regional humanitarian emergency and international pressure on Israel's conduct.