The U.S. military said it intercepted what it described as “unprovoked Iranian attacks” on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday and responded with self-defense strikes against Iranian military facilities, in the most significant flare-up since a fragile ceasefire between the two nations took effect on April 8. U.S. Central Command said no ships were hit and that the military does not seek escalation but “remains positioned and ready to protect American forces.”
President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in Washington, insisted the ceasefire was holding. “They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Trump said. He warned that failure to reach a negotiated settlement would carry consequences: “They have to understand: If it doesn’t get signed, they’re going to have a lot of pain.” Asked how close the two sides were to a deal, Trump said, “It could happen any day,” but quickly added, “And it might not happen.”
Iranian state media reported exchanges of fire with “the enemy” on Qeshm Island, the largest Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, which houses a water desalination plant and about 150,000 people. Loud noises and defensive fire were also reported in western Tehran, and explosions were heard near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to semiofficial Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim. The reports did not identify the source of the blasts.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Iran was reviewing the latest U.S. proposals, relayed through Pakistan, but had “not yet reached a conclusion, and no response has been given to the U.S. side,” state TV reported. The two countries began in-person talks hosted by Pakistan last month, but those discussions failed to reach an agreement to end the war that began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran.
A separate development deepened the tensions: shipping data firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported Thursday that Iran has established a new government agency, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which it described as “positioning itself as the only valid authority to grant permission to ships transiting the strait.” The agency has emailed application forms to shipping companies and is demanding to vet and, for some vessels, impose taxes on cargo. Maritime law experts said such demands violate international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which calls for countries to permit peaceful passage through territorial waters.
In another sign of friction within the U.S.-led coalition, a Saudi official said Washington did not consult Riyadh before launching a short-lived effort this week — dubbed Project Freedom — to force open a shipping passage through the strait. “We told them that we are not part of this and that they can’t use our territories and bases for this,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The official said Saudi Arabia separately sent a message to Iran that the kingdom would not be involved in U.S. attacks related to the attempt. Trump suspended Project Freedom on its second day, Tuesday, saying the pause would allow more time for a peace agreement. Only two American-flagged merchant ships are known to have passed through the U.S.-guarded route; the U.S. military said it sank six Iranian small boats that threatened civilian vessels.
Pakistan, which is mediating peace negotiations, said it remained in close contact with both sides. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad was in “continuous contact with Iran and the United States, day and night, to stop the war and extend the ceasefire.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said, “We expect an agreement sooner rather than later. We hope the parties will reach a peaceful and sustainable solution that will contribute not only to peace in our region but to international peace as well.” Andrabi declined to give a timeline.
Separately, an anonymous U.S. official said direct talks between Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to resume in Washington on May 14 and 15. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door meetings.
The ceasefire has largely held since April 8, but the Trump administration has sent mixed messages on its strategy to end the war. Previous declarations that military operations were over have been followed by new threats of bombing if Tehran does not accept a deal that allows for resumption of oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict.
At the Vatican, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed Middle East peace efforts with Pope Leo XIV, whose outspoken opposition to the Iran war has led to open sparring with Trump.
In Iran, state television aired remarks from President Masoud Pezeshkian, who said he recently met for more than two hours with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and praised the leader’s “sincere” behavior. Khamenei has not appeared in public since being wounded early in the war and has communicated only through written statements since being named supreme leader in March, after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the war’s initial strikes.