Trump says US Navy attacked and seized Iranian-flagged cargo ship

Overnight, ship tracking firms and analysts observed sanctioned crude oil tanker Alicia cross the Strait of Hormuz inbound, from the Gulf of Oman into the Persian Gulf.

Michelle Wiese Bockmann, analyst with shipping analytics company Windward, said the ship is falsely flagged, not currently carrying cargo.

Alicia's crossing was made westward into the Persian Gulf, and the tanker was already in the Gulf of Oman before the blockade came into effect earlier this week. The ship is also listing a destination of "for order" rather than a specific port destination.

Another ship, the Iranian-flagged RHN, appears to be making the same journey across the Strait right now, according to Marine Traffic. It was also already in the Gulf of Oman when the blockade began.

-ABC News' Victoria Beaulé

China has "agreed not to send weapons to Iran," is "very happy" that President Donald Trump is undertaking the operation in Iran to ensure the Strait of Hormuz is open in the future, Trump said in a post on social media Wednesday.

"President Xi will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks. We are working together smartly, and very well," Trump added.

The president is expected to travel to Beijing in May to meet with President Xi Jinping.

-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart

The commander of the Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters of Iran’s armed forces said the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf is a "violation of the ceasefire," in a statement published by the official Islamic Republic News Agency on Wednesday.

Gen. Ali Abdollahi warned that if the U.S. blockade continues, Iran "will not allow any exports and imports to continue" in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman or the Red Sea.

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian

Vice President JD Vance was heckled twice during a Turning Point USA college event in Athens, Georgia, on Tuesday, by people criticizing either the war in Iran or American support for Israel's ongoing war in Gaza.

One voice could be heard calling out, "Jesus Christ does not support genocide!" Another voice shouted, "You're killing children! You're bombing children!"

Vance addressed the event amid rising tensions between the White House and the Vatican, which in recent days has prompted President Donald Trump to repeatedly admonish Pope Leo XIV for the latter's anti-war statements.

Vance -- who converted to Catholicism in 2019 -- cited theology in his defense of U.S. conduct. "When the pope says that god is never on the side of those who wield the sword, there is a thousand -- more than a thousand-year tradition of just war theory."

"I think that it's important -- in the same way that it's important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy -- I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology."

"If you're going to opine on matters of theology, you've got to be careful, you've got to be sure it's anchored in the truth and that's one of the things that I try to do and that's certainly something I would expect from the clergy," Vance said.

-ABC News' Claire Brinberg and Hannah Demissie