Iran Renewed attacks in the Strait of Hormuz
The USA and Iran have once again attacked each other in the Strait of Hormuz despite a ceasefire and ongoing negotiations to end the war. According to a US official, the US military attacked a position in the city of Bandar Abbas from which drones were being controlled. Four drones had been shot down. The Iranian news agency Tasnim quoted a domestic military source as saying that an American oil tanker was attempting to pass through the strait with its radar system switched off. The Revolutionary Guards - the Islamic Republic's elite military force - had fired on it and forced it to turn back.
28.05.2026, 08:45
SDA
None of the claims made by either side could initially be independently verified. The US official explained that a fifth drone was about to be fired from the attacked position in Bandar Abbas. "These measures were restrained, purely defensive and aimed at maintaining the ceasefire." Shortly beforehand, Iranian media had reported the sound of explosions near Bandar Abbas.
A ceasefire has been in place in the war since April 8. Nevertheless, there have been several mutual attacks around the Strait of Hormuz since then.
Kuwait under fire again
The Revolutionary Guards announced in the early morning that the US airbase from which the US military had fired on an area near Bandar Abbas airport had been attacked. The Gulf state of Kuwait reported rocket and drone fire. The country's army announced on Platform X that its air defense was deployed to fend off the attacks. There was initially no information on possible damage or casualties.
It was also initially unclear where the attack came from. However, since the beginning of the US-Israeli attacks against Iran on February 28, Iran has fired missiles and drones at Kuwait and other states in the Persian Gulf on several occasions. The US military maintains numerous bases there, which are only a few hundred kilometers away from Iran as the crow flies.
Despite the current ceasefire in the Iran war, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states have also recently reported sporadic renewed shelling. If the reports of renewed night-time drone attacks by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and the subsequent US attacks in the Bandar Abbas area in the south of Iran are true, they will once again severely test the ceasefire.
USA sanctions authority to control the strait
The capital of Hormuzgan province is considered one of Iran's most important military centers in the Gulf region and on the Strait of Hormuz. After the war began, Tehran effectively blocked the strait, which is important for the global oil and gas trade. As a result, prices on the global energy markets shot up. The USA blocked Iranian ports in return.
Since then, shipping companies have had to coordinate with Iranian contact points to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and are then only allowed to pass through a corridor close to the Iranian coast. Tehran charges high fees for this. The US Treasury Department has therefore now placed the authority responsible for management and fee collection on the sanctions list.
The plan to charge a fee for the passage of the strait violates international law, the US Treasury Department declared. The government in Washington warns shipowners against cooperating with the Iranian authority to pass through the strait. This could be interpreted as supporting the Revolutionary Guards and could therefore also be subject to sanctions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz does not belong to Iran. "If we were to allow this to become the norm, we would be normalizing an unacceptable status quo," he said. If a framework agreement is reached between the US and Iran as part of the ongoing negotiations - which remains uncertain - it would lead to a "completely open strait" with no fees, Rubio said.
Trump issues warning to Oman
Reports that Oman, which also borders the Strait of Hormuz geographically, is to hold talks with Iran on joint control and regulation of the strait, US President Donald Trump commented with a clear threat: "Nobody will control it. Oman will behave like everybody else, or we'll have to blow them up. They understand that," he said in response to a corresponding question from reporters during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday (local time). The US State Department published the corresponding video clip on the X platform.
"The Strait of Hormuz will be open to all, it's international waters," Trump initially emphasized before making the threat. Iran only recently said again that the Strait of Hormuz was a matter for the neighboring states of Iran and Oman.
Trump dissatisfied with the state of negotiations
The de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is a massive burden on the global economy - and is the ultimate bargaining chip for Iran. US President Donald Trump said in a cabinet meeting that no one would control the strait. The USA would take care of it. That was part of the negotiations. In his view, the current state of negotiations is not yet satisfactory. At the cabinet meeting, the Republican said that Iran was very determined: "They absolutely want to conclude an agreement."
However, the US government is not yet "satisfied", said Trump. He reiterated his threat that they would either conclude a deal or continue to fight and "finish the job".
Iranian politician: sticking to red lines
However, according to a senior politician, Iran is sticking to its core demands. Trump's rhetoric will not dissuade Iran from its "red lines", wrote Ebrahim Azizi, Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Parliament, on the X platform.
These included the right to uranium enrichment, control of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of sanctions. Azizi is - as far as is known - not directly involved in the negotiations with the USA. He went on to write: "Obviously Trump is looking for a way out of this strategic impasse, alternating between threats and appeals for an agreement."
Trump had raised hopes of a quick agreement at the weekend, but later dampened them again by saying that both sides would have to take the necessary time. A core demand of the USA - and also of Israel's war partner - is that the country must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.
