{"id":98561,"date":"2026-05-05T10:17:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T10:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/98561\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T10:17:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T10:17:41","slug":"us-attempt-to-open-strait-of-hormuz-tests-fragile-iran-war-ceasefire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/98561\/","title":{"rendered":"US attempt to open Strait of Hormuz tests fragile Iran war ceasefire"},"content":{"rendered":"

DUBAI \u2013 The Iran war risked reigniting after the U.S. tried to force open<\/a> the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping, though a ceasefire<\/a> seemed to be holding Tuesday even after the United Arab Emirates said Iran fired missiles and drones at it.<\/p>\n

It is unclear what will follow after an American attempt to end Iran\u2019s stranglehold on the strait by creating an \u201cenhanced security area.” A prominent Iranian official accused the U.S. of undermining regional security with the effort and warned that Iran will respond.<\/p>\n

The U.S. military said two American-flagged merchant ships successfully transited the strait on Monday, but it remained to be seen if any more ships would cross through on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Ship tracking data showed a Panamanian-flagged crude oil tanker heading toward the center of the strait Tuesday morning after leaving an anchorage in the Persian Gulf, though it was unclear if it would try to pass through. The tanker had a stated destination of Singapore, according to the MarineTraffic ship tracking site.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s effective closure of the strait, through which about a fifth of the world\u2019s trade in oil and natural gas typically passes, along with fertilizer and other petroleum-derived products<\/a>, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the global economy<\/a>, and proved a major strategic advantage in negotiations to end the war. Breaking that chokehold would ease global economic concerns and deny Tehran a major source of leverage. <\/p>\n

But such efforts also risk reigniting the full-scale fighting that erupted when the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran on Feb. 28, prompting it to close the strait.<\/p>\n

Iran accuses US of ceasefire violation<\/p>\n

Iran has said the new U.S. effort is a violation of the fragile ceasefire that has held for more than three weeks.<\/p>\n

In a post on X Tuesday, Iran\u2019s powerful parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, accused Washington of undermining shipping security in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Qalibaf warned that a \u201cnew equation\u201d in the strait is taking shape. He signaled that Tehran has yet to fully respond to the U.S. attempt to reopen the waterway, saying: \u201cWe know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump vows to reopen the strait<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday warned that Iranian efforts to halt passage through the strait \u201cwill, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.\u201d He said the U.S. effort to reopen the strait, dubbed \u201cProject Freedom,\u201d was intended to aid stranded seafarers on hundreds of ships<\/a> that have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began.<\/p>\n

The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center advised ships on Monday to cross the strait in Oman\u2019s waters, saying it had set up an \u201cenhanced security area.\u201d <\/p>\n

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said American forces had successfully opened a passage free of Iranian mines. He said Iran launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the U.S. military\u2019s protection. U.S. military helicopters sank six of the small boats, Cooper said.<\/p>\n

The UAE bore the brunt of Iran\u2019s retaliation<\/p>\n

The United Arab Emirates’ Defense Ministry said its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE.<\/p>\n

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condemned the attacks, saying the targeting of civilians and infrastructure was \u201cunacceptable.\u201d In a statement on X, Modi said India stands in \u201cfirm solidarity\u201d with the UAE, and stressed the need for safe and uninterrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, saying it \u201cis vital for enduring regional peace, stability and global energy security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tehran did not confirm or deny the attacks but early on Tuesday, Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that both the U.S. and the UAE \u201cshould be wary of being dragged back into quagmire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pakistan, which has been mediating between the U.S. and Iran, and Saudi Arabia both condemned the strikes against the UAE. <\/p>\n

Saudi’s condemnation, in a statement from its foreign ministry, called on Iran \u201cto cease these attacks, comply with the principles of international law and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and respect the principles of good neighborliness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement came despite increasingly strained relations between Saudi and the UAE.<\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for the ceasefire to be upheld, and said in a post on X that Pakistan stands firmly with \u201cour Emirati brothers and sisters as well as with the government of the United Arab Emirates at this difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strait of Hormuz closure has far-reaching consequences<\/p>\n

The disruption of the waterway has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf oil and gas, raising prices far beyond the region<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The U.S. has meanwhile enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, telling at least 49 commercial ships to turn back, according to Central Command. It’s also warned shipping companies they could face sanctions if they pay Iran for transit of the strait. <\/p>\n

The blockade has deprived Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy<\/a>. U.S. officials have expressed hope the blockade will force Iran to make concessions in talks on its disputed nuclear program and other longstanding issues.<\/p>\n

Negotiations make little progress<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s latest proposal for ending the war calls for the U.S. to lift sanctions, end the blockade, withdraw forces from the region, and cease all hostilities including Israel\u2019s operations in Lebanon, according to the semiofficial Nour News and Tasnim agencies, which have close ties to Iran\u2019s security apparatus.<\/p>\n

Iranian officials said they were reviewing the U.S. response, though Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters Monday that changing demands made diplomacy difficult. He did not give details.<\/p>\n

Iran has claimed its proposal does not include its nuclear program and enriched uranium<\/a> \u2014 long a driving force in tensions with the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n

Iran wants other issues resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire. Trump expressed doubt over the weekend that the proposal would lead to a deal.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Lebanon and Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DUBAI \u2013 The Iran war risked reigniting after the U.S. tried to force open the Strait of Hormuz…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[211,2290,328,38,6433,34,5637,3636,463,16816,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-98561","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran","8":"tag-abbas-araghchi","9":"tag-brad-cooper","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-esmail-baghaei","13":"tag-iran","14":"tag-mohammad-bagher-qalibaf","15":"tag-narendra-modi","16":"tag-religion","17":"tag-shehbaz-sharif","18":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116521457968271664","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}