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ARCHIVE - A fire and plumes of smoke rise after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone hit an oil facility, according to authorities in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Photo: Altaf Qadri/AP/dpa
Keystone
The ceasefire between the USA and Iran is being put to a new test: Following Iranian attacks on three US destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz, the US military has attacked targets in the Islamic Republic in retaliation. This was announced on Platform X by the US Armed Forces Regional Command (Centcom) responsible for the Middle East. The Iranian military accused the USA of violating the already fragile ceasefire. Shortly afterwards, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported that new Iranian attacks had been repelled.
Following the strikes on Iranian targets, US President Donald Trump again called on Iran to sign a peace agreement "quickly" under threat. However, the ceasefire that has been in place for around a month remains in place despite the attacks.
"US forces repelled unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with strikes in self-defense when US Navy guided missile destroyers crossed the Strait of Hormuz toward the Gulf of Oman on May 7," Centcom said. Iranian forces fired several missiles and deployed drones and small boats as the three US ships passed through the strait. No US units were hit.
The US military has "neutralized" the threats and attacked Iranian military facilities responsible for the attacks - including missile and drone launching pads, command and control centers and intelligence and surveillance centers, the statement added. No escalation was being sought, but US forces would be protected.
The strait is of crucial importance to the global economy due to the export of oil and liquid gas from the Persian Gulf states, among other things. Iran has practically brought shipping in the passage to a standstill with attacks and threats since the start of the war. The USA, in turn, has now imposed a blockade on ships leaving or heading for Iranian ports. Despite the ceasefire, there have been attacks in the strait.
Following the latest attacks, the Iranian military accused the US of violating the ceasefire, which Trump recently unilaterally extended indefinitely. The US military had attacked an Iranian oil tanker that was traveling from Iran's coastal waters towards the Strait of Hormuz, the pro-government broadcaster Press TV quoted Iranian headquarters Khatam al-Anbiya as saying.
According to Press TV, the Iranian military also accused the USA of carrying out airstrikes on civilian areas along the coast and on the island of Gheshm in the Strait of Hormuz with the support of "regional countries". The Iranian armed forces responded immediately and attacked US military ships east of the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire in the Iran war has been in place for just over a month. However, military tensions remain high. US President Donald Trump recently expressed optimism that an agreement could soon be reached with the leadership in Tehran to end the war.
The Emirates reported new attacks in the early morning. The air defense is currently fending off missile and drone attacks from Iran, the Ministry of Defense announced. Iran had attacked the Gulf state on Monday and Tuesday for the first time since the ceasefire began around four weeks ago. The Iranian armed forces had described their attack as a reaction to a US initiative to open the blocked Strait of Hormuz, which Trump then suspended again on Tuesday.
Trump once again called on Iran to sign a peace agreement quickly. Otherwise, the US military would hit Iranian units much harder and much more violently in future, he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Iran is "led by INSANE people, and if they had the chance to use a nuclear weapon, they would do it without question - but they will never get that opportunity".
Trump went on to write that the Iranian attackers had been severely damaged. Their boats had sunk, their missiles and drones had been shot down. "They fell so beautifully on the ocean, like a butterfly falling into its grave!" A normal country would have let these destroyers pass, but Iran is not a normal country. The US ships would now rejoin the US naval blockade against Iran.
ABC News reported that Trump had told the broadcaster in a telephone interview that "the ceasefire is on, it's holding". He compared the attacks on Iran to a small, playful slap in the face. A little later, Trump told journalists that it would be obvious when the ceasefire was no longer in place. Then a lot of smoke would rise from Iran - an allusion to a massive bombing that Trump had already threatened several times.
Most recently, an agreement on an end to the war seemed to be getting closer. Trump had said that the talks were going very well and that he believed a deal was possible in the coming days. He also expressed optimism again on Thursday evening (local time). However, Iran had rejected reports of an imminent agreement as exaggerated. A US negotiation proposal was being examined, it said. A response would be submitted to the Pakistani mediators.
According to media reports, the White House is currently waiting for a response from Iran to a unilateral declaration of intent with 14 points. Among other things, the aim is to create a framework for negotiations, initially lasting 30 days, to end the war. An easing of US sanctions and agreements on the future of the Strait of Hormuz are also being discussed. In addition, a basis for negotiations on Iran's controversial nuclear program is to be created.
The declared war aim of the USA is to prevent Iran from pressing ahead with its nuclear program in order to develop nuclear weapons. For Washington, this also includes the complete removal of highly enriched uranium from Iran and the reduction of its enrichment capacities. Uranium must be highly enriched in order to build nuclear weapons. Iran has claimed for years that its nuclear program is purely civilian in nature.
08.05.2026, 05:43
08.05.2026, 07:43
