The U.S. military intercepted a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones targeting three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, then fired on the Iranian military installations that launched them — the most significant exchange of fire since a fragile ceasefire halted two months of open warfare between the two nations. U.S. Central Command said its forces intercepted “unprovoked Iranian attacks” and responded in self-defense. No American vessels were damaged, and the command said it does not seek escalation but remains “postured and ready to protect U.S. forces.” The Pentagon’s brief statement did not specify how many Iranian projectiles were fired or precisely which facilities were struck in retaliation.
Iran’s semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported exchanges of fire with “the enemy” on Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Persian Gulf, which is home to roughly 150,000 people and a desalination plant. Loud booms and defensive fire were heard in western Tehran, and explosions near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas were also reported, though none of the accounts identified the origin of the blasts.
President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in Washington, said the ceasefire still holds but leaned heavily on brinkmanship. “They messed with us today. We tore them to pieces,” he said, echoing a pattern of aggressive rhetoric alongside diplomatic signals. He later warned that if Iran does not sign a deal, “they are going to suffer a lot of pain,” while adding that an agreement “could happen at any time — and it might not happen.”
The latest violence unfolded as Iran entrenched its de facto control over the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported that Tehran has created a new government body, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which has begun emailing transit application forms to vessel operators and positioning itself as the sole legitimate authority for passage through the strait. Iran already inspects and, in some cases, taxes cargo under an opaque existing corridor near its coast. Maritime law experts say the formal demands for inspection and taxation violate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which requires nations to permit peaceful transit through territorial waters.
Washington and its Gulf allies are urging the U.N. Security Council to condemn Iran’s strait policy and threaten sanctions, but a previous resolution calling for the strait’s reopening was vetoed by Russia and China. For now, the vital shipping lane — critical for petroleum, fertilizer, and petrochemical products — remains effectively closed, leaving hundreds of commercial vessels stranded inside the Gulf.
Pakistan, which has been mediating peace talks since a face-to-face round last month, said on Thursday that it remains in “continuous contact day and night” with both sides. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad is working to “stop the war and extend the ceasefire.” Foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters, “We expect a deal sooner rather than later,” but declined to offer a timeline. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran is still reviewing the latest U.S. proposals and “has not yet reached a conclusion,” with no response sent to Washington.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has distanced itself from a brief U.S. attempt this week to forcibly reopen a maritime passage through the strait — a plan dubbed Project Freedom. A Saudi official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Riyadh told the United States, “We are not part of this and you cannot use our territories and bases for this.” The official added that Saudi Arabia sent a message to Iran assuring the kingdom would not participate in any U.S. attacks related to the strait operation. Trump suspended Project Freedom on its second day, saying the pause would allow more time for diplomacy; only two U.S.-flagged commercial vessels had used the guarded route before the halt.
In Tehran, President Masoud Pezeshkian said he met for more than two hours with Supreme Leader Moytaba Khamenei, who has played a key role overseeing negotiations with the United States but has not appeared in public since being wounded early in the war. Pezeshkian, speaking on state television, praised Khamenei’s “sincere” conduct during the lengthy in-person meeting. The supreme leader has issued only written statements since succeeding his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died during the initial attacks of the war.
The diplomatic tightrope also extended to the Vatican, where U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed Middle East peace efforts with Pope Leo XIV, whose outspoken opposition to the war with Iran has led to open clashes with Trump. Separately, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon are scheduled to resume in Washington on May 14 and 15, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door meetings.