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

The Israeli Defense Forces said they are investigating after an image of a soldier apparently damaging a statue of Jesus Christ began circulating online.

"It has been determined that this is authentic documentation of an IDF soldier who operated in the South Lebanon sector," The IDF said. "The IDF views the incident with utmost severity and emphasizes that the soldier's conduct deviates entirely from the values expected of its combatants."

The photo appears to show an IDF soldier damaging a statue of a crucified Jesus Christ, striking the head of the statue with what looks like a sledgehammer.

The incident is being investigated by the IDF's Northern Command, which said they would assist the village community in "returning the statue to its place."

"The IDF operates to address the terror infrastructure established by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and there is no intention whatsoever to damage civilian infrastructure, including religious structures or religious symbols," the IDF said.

The Iranian Military Headquarters said that the U.S. has broken the ceasefire after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Navy had attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.

The Iranian military claimed the move "violated the ceasefire and maritime piracy," according to the statement published on the Iranian state news outlet FARS.

"The aggressor America violated the ceasefire and maritime piracy by firing at an Iranian merchant ship in the waters of the Sea of Oman, disabling its navigation system, and landing a number of its terrorist marines on the deck of the vessel," the statement read.

The Iranian military said it would "soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the US military."

President Donald Trump said in a post on his social media platform Sunday afternoon that the U.S. Navy had attacked an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman and that U.S. Marines have taken custody of the vessel.

“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them,” Trump said in the post.

U.S. Central Command confirmed that the destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the Touska as it transited the North Arabian Sea towards the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. 

After repeated warnings over a six-hour timespan, the destroyer warned the Touska’s crew to vacate the engine room and fired several rounds at that location from its five-inch gun, according to CENTCOM.

Marines later boarded the ship, and it remains in U.S. custody, CENTCOM said.

It appears to be the first instance of the U.S. attacking and seizing a merchant vessel since it instituted the blockade of Iranian ports.

The president further wrote that "U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel," which he said is "under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!"

The move comes after Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine warned that the U.S. would actively enforce the blockade on Iranian-flagged vessels around the globe.

"In addition to this blockade, the joint force, through operations and activities in other areas of responsibility, like the Pacific area of responsibility under the command of Admiral Paparo, will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran. This includes Dark Fleet vessels carrying Iranian oil," Caine said in a Pentagon press conference Thursday.

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr

As Tehran asserts that it will not participate in a second round of in-person talks with U.S. negotiators in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday unless the naval blockade on Iranian ports is lifted, President Donald Trump is claiming that a peace deal is almost complete.

"I feel fine about it. The concept of the deal is done. I think we have a very good chance to get it completed," Trump told Axios in an interview on Sunday.

The president offered no details regarding what was in the deal.

Trump's comments to Axios were published just hours after he threatened to bomb all of Iran's power plants and bridges if the Iranians don't sign the deal.

“If the deal isn’t done, the deal that we made, then I’m going to take out their bridges and their power plants," Trump told Fox News in a separate interview. “If they don’t sign this thing, the whole country is going to get blown up.”

The president told ABC News' Jonathan Karl something similar Sunday.

"It’s going to be very good," Trump said. "They are either going to do it or they are going to have problems. We’ll see what happens."

The present ceasefire agreement is set to expire on Wednesday.

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr