The USS Spruance blew a hole in the Iranian cargo ship TOUSKA today and U.S. Marines boarded it. Trump said they're "seeing what's on board." That line matters more than most people realize. The TOUSKA is owned by IRISL — the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines — which is sanctioned not for oil smuggling but under WMD proliferation authority. The U.S. government has documented IRISL moving ballistic missile components, Defense Industries Organization cargo, and Ministry of Defense logistics. The EU sanctioned them because the Revolutionary Guard converts IRISL container ships into drone carriers. And the North Korea connection goes deeper than the current war coverage suggests.

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Eric Garland is a career intelligence analyst sanctioned by Vladimir Putin in 2022 alongside three CIA directors. His 2016 Game Theory Thread was named by the New York Times as one of the 25 most important tweets in history.

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SOURCES
Trump Truth Social post, April 19, 2026.
U.S. Treasury OFAC SDN List, TOUSKA entry (OFAC ID 25315), via OpenSanctions.
U.S. Treasury OFAC SDN List, Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines Group entry.
U.S. Department of State, Designation of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, E-Sail Shipping Company Ltd, and Mahan Air, December 2019.
EU Financial Sanctions Files, Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines entry, 2025.
U.S. Treasury Department, sanctions against entities involved in Iran's ballistic missile program, January 2016 — specifically the designation of Seid Mir Ahmad Nooshin and the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group for cooperation with North Korea on long-range missile development.
United Nations Panel of Experts report on DPRK, confirming IRISL vessel use by KOMID and SHIG for ballistic missile component transfers, 2020.
Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. and Anthony N. Celso, Rogue Allies: The Strategic Partnership Between Iran and North Korea, cited in Military.com, March 2026.
U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment, Iran's Shahab-3 missile development based on North Korean Rodong designs, 2019.
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