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In brief
- The United States and Iran have exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
- The violence has placed renewed strain on an already delicate ceasefire.
The United States military reported that it executed strikes on Iranian military facilities on Friday. This action followed an assault on three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz. In contrast, Iran claimed that the United States instigated the conflict by attacking first.
This surge of violence poses a threat to a delicate ceasefire that had been in place since April 8. The truce had previously halted a series of US-Israeli offensives against Iran, which had countered with its own strikes across the Middle East and by obstructing the crucial shipping route of the strait, vital for global oil and gas distribution.
According to a statement from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on social media platform X, “Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones, and small boats” targeting the three US warships. However, none of the American vessels sustained damage. CENTCOM further noted that they “eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible” for the attack.
CENTCOM emphasized that their aim is not to escalate tensions, yet they remain “positioned and ready to protect American forces.”
In response, Iran’s central military command accused the United States of breaching the ceasefire by attacking an oil tanker and another vessel on Friday. They claimed that Iranian forces “immediately and in retaliation attacked American military vessels.”
US President Donald Trump had fuelled hopes of a deal just the day before, saying an agreement could be near, even as he again threatened to return to bombing if Iran refused to back down.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran would communicate its position to mediator Pakistan “after finalising its views”.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had struck an optimistic tone before the exchanges of fire on Thursday, saying in televised remarks: “I firmly believe that this ceasefire will turn into a long-term ceasefire.”
Lebanon talks
But, inside Iran, civilians were cynical.
“Neither side in these negotiations is really capable of reaching an agreement,” 42-year-old photographer Shervin told Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters in Paris, messaging from Iran.
“This is another one of Trump’s games; otherwise, why are so many warships and military forces being sent toward Iran?”
Any agreement between the United States and Iran could also help lower tensions in Lebanon, where a separate truce was under renewed strain after an Israeli strike on southern Beirut killed a commander from militant group Hezbollah on Thursday.
A US State Department official confirmed on Thursday that the new Israel-Lebanon talks would take place between 14 and 15 May.
It will be the third meeting in recent months between the two countries, which have technically been at war for decades and have no diplomatic relations.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that a peace deal between the two sides was “eminently achievable,” insisting Hezbollah was the sticking point, rather than any issue between the two governments.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Ships, crew stranded
A ceasefire between the two countries and including Hezbollah was extended after the last round of talks in Washington DC, but Israel has kept up its strikes on the group, which has claimed attacks of its own on Israeli forces occupying parts of Lebanon’s south.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least 12 people killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes on Friday.
Following the start of the war with US-Israeli attacks on 28 February, Iran largely shuttered the Strait of Hormuz.
Around 1,500 ships and 20,000 international crew are now trapped in the Gulf region because of the conflict, the secretary-general of the UN’s International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, told a Maritime Convention of the Americas meeting in Panama.
Trump had this week briefly launched a naval operation to force open the strait to commercial vessels, only to stand it down within hours, citing progress on negotiations with Iran.
The US president — who has lambasted Europe for not backing his war against Iran — said on Thursday he had a “great call” with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, saying they were “completely united that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon”.
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