The United States said it expected an Iranian response as soon as later in the day on Friday to its latest proposal to end the war in the Gulf, even as U.S. and Iranian forces clashed in the Gulf and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack.
Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the contested Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, despite the U.S. and Iran indicating they were closer than ever to a deal to end the war.
‘‘We should know something today,’‘ U.S. 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 response.
Sporadic clashes between Iranian armed forces and U.S. vessels were taking place in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The U.S. military said it had struck two more Iran-linked vessels that were trying to enter an Iranian port. A U.S. fighter jet had hit the vessels’ smokestacks and prevented them from entering Iran.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday a ceasefire was still holding despite the flare-ups. Washington is awaiting Tehran’s response to a U.S. proposal, which would formally end the war first, before talks to resolve the most contentious issues such as the fate of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump said three U.S. Navy destroyers were attacked as they moved through the strait, and the U.S. military fired back.
‘‘Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers,’‘ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He later told reporters the ceasefire remained in effect and played down the exchange. ‘‘They trifled with us today. We blew them away,’‘ Trump said in Washington.
IRAN ACCUSES U.S. OF BREACHING TRUCE
Iran accused the United States of breaching the ceasefire, which had largely held since it was announced on April 7 but has come under far greater strain this week since Trump announced - and then paused - a new naval mission to force open the strait.
‘‘Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure,’‘ Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday.
Iran’s top joint military command said U.S. forces had targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and carried out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby coastal areas. Iranian forces responded by attacking U.S. military vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar.
A spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the Iranian strikes inflicted ‘‘significant damage’‘, but U.S. Central Command said none of its assets was hit.
Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that one crew member was killed, 10 wounded and four were missing after the U.S. Navy attacked an Iranian commercial ship late on Thursday in waters near the strait, the vital conduit for global energy supplies that Tehran has all but closed since the war began.
The confrontation was not confined to the waterway. The United Arab Emirates said its air defences engaged with two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, resulting in three moderate injuries.
During the war, Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host U.S. military bases. In what the UAE called a ‘‘major escalation’‘, Iran stepped up attacks on its neighbour this week after Trump announced ‘‘Project Freedom’‘ to escort ships in the strait, which he then paused after 48 hours.
OIL PRICES HOVER AROUND $100
In a separate incident, Iranian forces seized an oil tanker, the Ocean Koi, in the Gulf of Oman east of the strait, over an alleged attempt to disrupt Iran’s oil exports, state media said on Friday, quoting an army statement.
It said the Barbados-flagged tanker, which is under U.S. sanctions, was carrying Iranian oil and ‘‘was trying to harm and disrupt oil exports...by exploiting regional conditions’‘, without giving further explanation.
Oil prices held steady, with Brent crude futures hovering around $100 a barrel, as traders weigh the conflicting signals of clashes in the Gulf against reports of diplomatic progress.
TRUMP URGES NEGOTIATED END TO WAR
The latest U.S. proposal would formally end the conflict first, before addressing Washington’s core demands - that Iran suspend its nuclear programme and reopen the strait. Tehran, which had made a similar proposal last week, said it had not yet reached a decision on the U.S. plan.
Trump said Tehran had acknowledged his demand that Iran could never get a nuclear weapon, a prohibition he said was implicit in the U.S. proposal.
‘‘There’s zero chance. And they know that, and they’ve agreed to that. Let’s see if they are willing to sign it,’‘ Trump said. Iran has always said its nuclear programme is peaceful and it is not pursuing a weapon.
Asked when any deal might be reached, Trump said: ‘‘It might not happen, but it could happen any day."
Source: Reuters
--Agencies
