The United States said it expected an Iranian response as soon as Friday to its latest proposal to end the Gulf war, even as US and Iranian forces clashed near the Strait of Hormuz and the United Arab Emirates came under fresh attack. Recent days have produced the biggest flare-ups since the April 7 ceasefire took effect, despite both sides indicating they are closer than ever to a deal.
“We should know something today,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Rome. “We’re expecting a response from them. The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation.” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran was still weighing its reply.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported sporadic clashes between Iranian forces and US vessels in the strait. The US military said a US fighter jet had struck the smokestacks of two Iran-linked vessels and prevented them from entering an Iranian port. President Donald Trump said three US Navy destroyers were attacked while transiting the strait and the US “blew them away,” but insisted the ceasefire still holds.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi accused Washington of breaching the truce. “Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the US opts for a reckless military adventure,” he said. Iran’s joint military command said US forces had targeted an oil tanker and another ship and conducted air strikes on civilian areas of Qeshm Island, prompting Iranian retaliation against US vessels east of the strait and south of Chabahar. CENTCOM said no US assets were hit. Iran’s Mehr news agency reported one Iranian crew member killed, ten wounded and four missing after a US Navy strike on a commercial ship late Thursday.
The UAE Ministry of Defence said its air defences engaged two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, leaving three people with moderate injuries. Cumulative interceptions now total 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and 2,263 drones since hostilities began.
Iran also seized the US-sanctioned, Barbados-flagged tanker Ocean Koi in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, accusing it of trying to disrupt Iranian oil exports. Brent crude was hovering near $100 a barrel as traders weighed conflicting signals.
The latest US proposal would formally end the war first, before tackling Tehran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the strait. Iran said it has not yet decided. Trump said Tehran had acknowledged a US demand that it could “never get a nuclear weapon” — a claim Iran disputes. Pakistan, which is mediating, said it expects an agreement “sooner rather than later.”
