By Lawrence Odoom
U.S. President Donald Trump has asserted that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains intact despite a volatile exchange of fire in the Strait of Hormuz late Thursday night. It remains unclear which side initiated the hostilities.
Iran’s senior military command alleged that U.S. forces targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another vessel approaching the Strait of Hormuz, conducting “aerial attacks” on several coastal areas.
The U.S., meanwhile, said it responded to Iranian attacks on U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers in the Strait with “self-defence strikes”. Trump said Iran “trifled with us today”.
The flare-up comes a day after Iran’s foreign ministry had said it was considering a U.S. proposal to end the war.
In a further sign of the fragility of the ceasefire, early on Friday the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defence said its air defences were “actively engaging” with an missile and drone attack from Iran.
Iranian state media initially reported “explosions” in the Strait of Hormuz, describing them as an “exchange of fire” with the “enemy”. Meanwhile, local media reported explosions were heard in Tehran.
Not long after, a statement from Iran’s top military command said U.S. “aerial attacks” struck the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik and Qeshm Island.
It said it responded immediately by attacking U.S. military vessels, inflicting “significant damage”, and accused the U.S. of a “violation of the ceasefire”.
U.S. Central Command (Centcom) described the Iranian attacks as “unprovoked”, saying Iranian forces launched “multiple missiles, drones and small boats” as U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers transited through the strait.
Centcom said it had “eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking US forces, including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes.”
“Centcom does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces,” the statement continued.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump said that the U.S. had destroyed multiple small boats that “dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!”
“Great damage” was “done to the Iranian attackers,” he continued.
The U.S. president also reiterated a warning over the peace deal: “Just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!”
An Israeli source told the BBC there was “no Israeli involvement” in the latest attacks.
The escalation unfolds despite Trump’s recent declarations that the conflict with Iran would be “over quickly”. Axios reported that the White House believes it is nearing a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran, potentially laying the groundwork for detailed nuclear negotiations.
On Wednesday, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said the latest U.S. proposal was being considered and that Tehran would share its views with Pakistani mediators.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said his country was “endeavouring to convert this ceasefire into a permanent end to this war”.
Yet skepticism persists in Tehran. A senior member of Iran’s parliament dismissed the 14-point memorandum as a “wish list”.
The spokesperson of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, Ebrahim Rezaei, wrote on X that Iran “has its finger on the trigger”, warning Iran would “deliver a harsh and regret-inducing response” if the U.S. did not “surrender and grant necessary conditions”.
Both Washington and Tehran have threatened further escalation should their conditions for a lasting settlement go unmet.
In a Truth Social post on 6 May, Trump wrote that if Iran did not agree to a deal “the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”.
Trump had previously said Operation Epic Fury the initial U.S.-Israeli offensive in Iran would come to an end “assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to”. Prior to this statement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said the operation was over and had achieved its objectives.
Trump also said, not for the first time, that Iran had agreed to never have a nuclear weapon “among other things” a claim that has not been confirmed by Tehran. Iran’s nuclear programme remains a central point of contention between the two adversaries.