TEHRAN, April 28. /TASS/. A US trade vessel with 34 crew on board has been seized by the Iranian navy for illegal entry to the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, the Iranian news agency Fars reported Tuesday citing Iranian military sources.

Al Arabiya reported that "Iran has opened fire at a US cargo ship and directed it to Bandar Abbas port on the southern coast of Iran."

US Department of Defense spokesman Army Col. Steven Warren told journalists that Iran detained the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel, the Maersk Tigris in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. He said there were no American citizens on board, contradicting earlier reports, which said there were 34 of them there.