Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that they would respond firmly to any ships that diverge from the Islamic republic’s approved route through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
“We warn all vessels planning to transit the Strait of Hormuz that the only safe passage is the corridor previously announced by Iran. Any diversion of ships to other routes is dangerous and will result in a firm response from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy,” it said in a statement carried by state television.<\/p>\n
It comes after the United Arab Emirates said it was under attack from Iranian missiles and drones.<\/p>\n
Washington said a shaky ceasefire was intact despite an exchange of fire the previous day as US forces attempted to force open the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/002450eb-614.jpg\"\/)
\nAn Iran-flagged tugboat sails near a ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n
The US military said it had destroyed six Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones, after Mr Trump sent the navy to escort stranded tankers through the strait in a campaign he called “Project Freedom”.<\/p>\n
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation to protect commercial ships was temporary and the four-week-old truce was not over.<\/p>\n
“We’re not looking for a fight,” he told a press conference. “Right now the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely.”<\/p>\n
Iran fired missiles at US ships yesterday and attacked the UAE, a key regional ally of Washington, with missiles and drones.<\/p>\n
Shortly after Mr Hegseth spoke on Tuesday, the UAE’s defence ministry said its air defences were again dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran.<\/p>\n
US ‘not looking for a fight’ with Project Freedom, says Hegseth<\/b><\/p>\n
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The Gulf Arab state’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the attacks were a serious escalation and posed a direct threat to the country’s security, adding that the UAE reserved its “full and legitimate right” to respond.<\/p>\n
There was no immediate comment on that from Iran, though earlier its parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, had said breaches of the ceasefire by the US and its allies endangered shipping through the strait, which carries a large share of the world’s oil and fertiliser supplies.<\/p>\n
“We know well that the continuation of the current situation is unbearable for the United States, while we have not even begun yet,” he said in a social media post.<\/p>\n
Attacks in the Gulf<\/b><\/p>\n
The narrow strait has been virtually shut since the United States and Israel began attacks on Iran on 28 February, triggering disruptions that have pushed up commodity prices around the world.<\/p>\n
Mr Hegseth said the US had successfully secured a path through the critical waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through.<\/p>\n
Several merchant ships in the Gulf reported explosions or fires on Monday, and an oil port in the UAE, which hosts a large US military base, was set ablaze by Iranian missiles. The UAE reimposed flight restrictions on its airspace.<\/p>\n
Iran has effectively sealed off the strait by threatening to deploy mines, drones, missiles and fast attack craft. The United States has countered by blockading Iranian ports and mounting escorted transits for commercial vessels.<\/p>\n
The US military said two US merchant ships made it through the strait, without saying when, with the support of Navy guided-missile destroyers.<\/p>\n
Iran denied any crossings had taken place, though shipping company Maersk MAERSKb.CO said the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged ship, exited the Gulf under US military escort yesterday.<\/p>\n
The commander of US forces in the region said his fleet had destroyed six small Iranian boats, which Iran also denied. Iranian media quoted a military commander as saying US forces targeted civilian and cargo vessels, killing five civilians.<\/p>\n
Iran also said it fired warning shots at a US warship approaching the strait, forcing it to turn back.<\/p>\n
Reuters could not independently verify events in the strait as the two sides issued contradictory statements.<\/p>\n
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that since the ceasefire was announced on 7 April, Iran had fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships.<\/p>\n
He said Iran has attacked US forces more than 10 times.<\/p>\n
However, the attacks fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point”, Mr Caine told reporters.<\/p>\n
UAE oil port ablaze<\/b><\/p>\n
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said peace talks were progressing with Pakistan’s mediation, and warned the US and the UAE against being drawn into a “quagmire.”<\/p>\n
He was travelling to Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart, his ministry said.<\/p>\n
Iranian authorities released a map of what they said was an expanded maritime area now under Iranian control, stretching beyond the strait to include sections of the UAE coastline.<\/p>\n
The Iranian map included Fujairah and another Emirati port, Khorfakkan, both on the Gulf of Oman which the UAE has relied on since the start of the conflict to bypass the blocked strait.<\/p>\n
After a day of reported drone and missile attacks inside the UAE on Monday, including one that caused a fire at Fujairah, an important oil port, the UAE said Iranian attacks marked a serious escalation and it reserved the right to respond.<\/p>\n
Iran’s state television said military officials had confirmed they attacked the UAE in response to the “US military’s adventurism”.<\/p>\n
![\"Iran's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/002446cd-614.jpg\"\/)
\nIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said clashes in the strait showed there was ‘no military solution to a political crisis’<\/p>\n
Peace efforts stalled<\/b><\/p>\n
The war in the Middle East has already killed thousands and roiled the global economy. US and Iranian officials have held one round of face-to-face peace talks, but attempts to set up further meetings have failed.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump has said the US-Israeli attacks aimed to eliminate what he called imminent threats from Iran, citing its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, its support for Hamas and Hezbollah and its “menacing activities”.<\/p>\n
Iranian state media said that the U.S. had conveyed its response to a 14-point Iranian proposal via Pakistan, and Iran was reviewing it. Neither side gave details.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/002450aa-614.jpg\"\/)
\nA screen displays vessel movements in the Strait of Hormuz on a ship-tracking website<\/p>\n
A senior Pakistani official involved in the talks said “backdoor diplomacy” was continuing. “We have put in a lot of efforts, actually both the sides have narrowed gaps on majority issues,” the source said.<\/p>\n
Tehran’s proposal would defer talks on its nuclear energy and research programmes until after agreements to end the war and on shipping security. Mr Trump said over the weekend he was still studying it, but would likely reject it.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump has insisted Iran must surrender its enriched uranium stockpiles to prevent it producing a nuclear weapon – an ambition Tehran denies.<\/p>\n