Fresh “sporadic clashes” broke out Friday between Iranian and US naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media, marking the latest flare-up despite a monthlong ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
The fighting came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington expected a response from Tehran on Friday to its latest proposal.
“For the last hour, sporadic clashes have taken place between the Iranian armed forces and American vessels in the Strait of Hormuz,” the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Fox News, citing a senior US official, said the American military on Friday struck several empty Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) that allegedly attempted to violate the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM later confirmed US forces hit two empty Iranian-flagged oil tankers and disabled a third vessel on Wednesday.
“All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
The command also said more than 70 tankers were being prevented from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
“These commercial ships have the capacity to transport over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth an estimated $13 billion-plus,” CENTCOM said.
Additionally, Iran announced it seized what it called a US-sanctioned oil tanker carrying Iranian crude in the Sea of Oman, which reports said is Chinese-owned.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s navy, through a specially planned operation in the Sea of Oman, seized the offending tanker Ocean Koi,” the Iranian army said in a statement carried by state television, adding that the vessel had sought “to damage and disrupt Iran’s oil exports.”
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said Iran fired two ballistic missiles and three drones at the country since midnight Friday, moderately wounding three people.
According to the Emirati Defense Ministry, 13 people have been killed and 230 wounded in the UAE since the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28.
The incidents on Friday came a day after the United States and Iran exchanged fire, in the most serious test yet of the fragile truce reached after the US-Israeli war against the Iranian regime began in late February.
US Central Command confirmed overnight that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in Iran in response to “unprovoked Iranian attacks” against US Navy missile destroyers that transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman, which Tehran claimed violated international law and the ceasefire.
Despite the fighting, Trump told ABC on Thursday the truce was still “in effect.” But in a social media post, he threatened Iran with further strikes if it did not agree to a deal with the US.
Speaking Friday while visiting Rome, Rubio said Washington expected an imminent response from Tehran to its latest offer.
“We’ll see what the response entails. The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation,” Rubio told reporters.
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