Iran accuses US of blatant truce violation as it considers peace deal

Fresh violence in the Strait of Hormuz has thrown a fragile US-Iran ceasefire into doubt, with Tehran accusing واشنگتن of violating the truce and both sides trading blame for an overnight confrontation in one of the world’s most strategically sensitive waterways.

“The action carried out last night was both a blatant violation of international law and a breach of the ceasefire,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to the ISNA news agency.

“At the same time, the country’s defenders delivered a ‘major slap’ to the enemy and repelled the enemies’ aggression with full force,” he continued.

The latest exchanges mark the most serious fighting in and around the contested Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire took hold a month ago, underscoring how quickly tensions can reignite even as Washington and Tehran signal they may be closer than at any point in the war to a broader settlement.

Watch: Iran ‘better sign their agreement fast’ – Trump

“We should know something today,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Rome.

“We’re expecting a response from them. We’ll see what the response entails. The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation.”

President Donald Trump insisted the ceasefire remained intact despite the latest burst of hostilities.

Under the US proposal, the war would be formally brought to an end before negotiators turn to the hardest questions, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Mehr news agency said 10 crew members were injured and five others were missing after an Iranian commercial vessel was attacked overnight by the US Navy near the strait, the crucial artery for global energy flows that Iran has effectively shut since the conflict began.

Mr Trump said three US Navy destroyers came under attack while passing through the strait and that American forces responded with fire.

“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,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He later struck a dismissive tone when speaking to reporters in Washington, saying the ceasefire was still in place. “They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Mr Trump said.

Iran said the United States had broken the ceasefire, which had largely held since it was announced on 7 April but has come under much heavier pressure this week after Mr Trump unveiled, and then suspended, a new naval mission in the strait.

“Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the US opts for a reckless military adventure,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said.

Iran’s top joint military command said US forces struck an Iranian oil tanker and another vessel, and also carried out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby coastal districts.

It said Iranian forces retaliated by targeting US military ships east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar.

A spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the Iranian response caused “significant damage,” although US Central Command said none of its assets had been hit.

Hours later, Iran’s Press TV said that after the exchanges, “the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities … is back to normal now”.

The unrest spread beyond the waterway itself. The United Arab Emirates said its air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles and three drones launched from Iran, leaving three people with moderate injuries.

Throughout the war, Iran has repeatedly struck at the UAE and other Gulf states that host US military installations.

In what the UAE described as a “major escalation”, Tehran intensified attacks on its neighbour this week after Mr Trump announced “Project Freedom” to escort shipping through the strait, only to pause the effort 48 hours later.

In a separate episode nearby, Iranian forces seized an oil tanker, the Ocean Koi, in the Gulf of Oman to the east of the strait over what state media described earlier today as an attempt to interfere with Iran’s oil exports, citing an army statement.

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It said the Barbados-flagged tanker, which is under US sanctions, was carrying Iranian oil and “was trying to harm and disrupt oil exports … by exploiting regional conditions”, without offering further detail.

Oil markets remained relatively calm, with Brent crude futures hovering near $100 a barrel, as traders balanced reports of fresh clashes in the Gulf against signs that diplomacy may still be advancing.

Mr Trump said Iran had accepted his demand that it must never obtain a nuclear weapon, saying that condition was built into the US 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,” Mr Trump said.

Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful and that it is not seeking a weapon.

Asked when a deal could be reached, Mr Trump said: “It might not happen, but it could happen any day.”

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