Closing summary
This blog is closed but you can read our full report on the Iran war and wider Middle East crisis here.
Here’s the main news of the day:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening said he has paused ‘Project Freedom’ – the effort to guide stranded commercial vessels from the strait of Hormuz – in order to finalise a deal with Iran to end the war.
Trump also said the US blockade of Iranian ports would continue. He announced the decision in a social media post Tuesday evening. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran is yet to comment on Trump’s statement.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said earlier that major US military operations against Iran are over. He said Iran must agree to US demands on its nuclear program and reopen the strait. Rubio said recent clashes with Iran related to US efforts to reopen the strait were “defensive in nature”.
While Rubio was speaking, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a cargo vessel had been struck by a projectile in the strait. Further details of the incident were not immediately available.
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said earlier on Tuesday that the US had successfully secured a path through the waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through. The four-week-old truce with Iran was not over, he added.
UN Security Council members began closed talks on Tuesday on a text the US drafted with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar, which, if it were to pass, could lead to sanctions against Iran, and potentially authorise force, if Tehran fails to halt attacks and threats to commercial shipping.
Fresh exchanges of fire on Monday underscored the stakes as the US and Iran struggle for control of the narrow waterway, shaking a fragile four-week-old truce and reinforcing rival maritime blockades.
For a second consecutive day, the United Arab Emirates said its air defences had shot down missiles and drones from Iran. Tehran did not immediately comment.
Clashes have continued between Hezbollah and Israel. Israel’s military said late Tuesday that Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon had launched “several rockets” toward Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. No injuries were reported.
The US national average retail price of gasoline surpassed $4.50 a gallon on Tuesday for the first time since July 2022, data from GasBuddy showed.
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Clashes continue between Hezbollah and Israel
Israel’s military said late on Tuesday that Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon had launched “several rockets” toward Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.
No injuries were reported.
Israel’s military also says it intercepted drones and what it calls “aerial targets” launched by Hezbollah before they crossed into Israeli territory.
Hezbollah started firing at Israel shortly after the beginning of the Iran war, and Israel responded with airstrikes and launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced along the border.
The attacks have continued despite a ceasefire in place since 17 April.
Almost two hours after Donald Trump said Project Freedom was paused, the price of Brent crude has remained largely static, hovering about $108 a barrel.
The price briefly crested $115 on Monday before it dipped. But it’s still well above its roughly $70 price from before the war with Iran.
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US petrol prices hit highest level in years
The US national average retail price of gasoline surpassed $4.50 a gallon on Tuesday for the first time since July 2022, data from GasBuddy showed.
As the US Memorial Day weekend approaches and with it peak summer driving season, surging pump prices pose a major political risk for President Donald Trump and his Republican party as they campaign for midterm elections in November.
Without de-escalation in the Middle East, analysts say US motor fuel prices could rise past prior records.
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Further to what is happening in the strait, earlier today Marco Rubio told reporters that many countries want to help open Hormuz but some lack the ability to do so.
Asked what the global appetite is for the US effort to reopen the strait, Rubio said the issue has not been a lack of interest but that not many can provide the assets and resources needed.
“The capabilities is the issue. A lot of countries would love to do something about it. But they don’t have a navy, right? Or they can’t get there in time.” he said. The onus, he said, is on the US.
Confusing US messaging over strait of Hormuz
Trump’s latest statement on pausing Project Freedom comes hours after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said the US had successfully secured a path through the waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through.
Speaking earlier on Tuesday, Hegseth said that the four-week-old truce with Iran was not over. “Right now the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely.”
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iranian attacks against US forces fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point”.
A couple of hours ago, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a cargo vessel had been struck by a projectile in the strait. No other details are known at this stage.
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Trump says Project Freedom and movement of ships through strait of Hormuz paused
Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social that Iran and the US have mutually agreed that while the US blockade “will remain in full force and effect”, Project Freedom – the movement of ships through the strait of Hormuz – will be paused. Trump said this was to see if an agreement between the two countries can be finalised and signed.
Iran is yet to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment offering further detail about the progress in negotiations that Trump alluded to in his posting.
Trump said he was making the move based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”
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We have a little more detail on another vessel that reportedly safely exited the strait of Hormuz on Monday.
The CS Anthem chemical tanker became the second commercial US-flagged vessel known to do so while protected by the US military, its operator said on Tuesday. Maersk said on Monday that the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged vehicle carrier operated by its Farrell Lines subsidiary, had exited the Gulf via the strait.
US forces are helping to restore commercial shipping through the strait, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Monday. Centcom said that US Navy guided-missile destroyers are operating in the Gulf under a directive called “Project Freedom”.
NBC News, citing two unidentified US officials, reported that two ships had US military security teams aboard when Iran launched attacks against them during their strait of Hormuz transits on Monday. Representatives from Maersk and Crowley did not immediately comment on that report.
The United Arab Emirates president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has received calls from regional leaders, including the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemning what they described as Iranian attacks on civilians and civilian facilities in the UAE, according to state media reports.
The leaders “affirmed their countries’ solidarity with the UAE and support for measures it takes to safeguard its security and stability and ensure the safety of its citizens,” the news agency WAM said on Wednesday.
The UAE said it has faced missile and drone attacks for a second day.
Earlier this week, citing two people familiar with the matter, the New York Times reported the Israeli military has deployed its Iron Dome missile defence system in the UAE during the Iran war.
The Iron Dome missile defence system is able to intercept incoming short-range rocket fire.
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FIFA has invited the Iranian football federation to its headquarters for talks over the country’s participation at this year’s World Cup, a source told Agence France-Presse.
Iran’s presence at the tournament, to be held in the US, Canada and Mexico between 11 June and 19 July, has been shrouded in uncertainty since the war erupted.
You may remember last month that Paolo Zampolli, a special envoy to Donald Trump, suggested Italy should be fast-tracked to the World Cup despite their shock defeat by Bosnia and Herzegovina in last month’s playoffs.
Zampolli proposed the four-time winners Italy replace Iran and said they would “have the pedigree to justify their inclusion”. Marco Rubio later stepped in to quash those suggestions.
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The day so far
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the military objectives of so-called “Operation Epic Fury” have concluded and the offensive stage of the war with Iran is “over”. Speaking at the White House press briefing, Rubio insisted that ongoing US military action in the strait of Hormuz is “defensive” in nature and a separate operation, in line with the Trump administration’s argument that it doesn’t need approval from Congress to continue the war against Iran. “There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first,” he told reporters, urging Iran to “make the sensible choice” and negotiate a deal.
With the status of the ceasefire in doubt, Donald Trump declined to say what would constitute a violation, telling reporters only that Iran knows “what not to do”. It comes amid rising tensions after both sides exchanged fire in the strait of Hormuz on Monday. “Well, you’ll find out because I’ll let you know,” the US president said. “They know what to do, or what not to do more importantly.”
Trump’s defense secretary Pete Hegseth insisted that “Project Freedom” has allowed the US to gain control of the strait, despite Iran claiming it has actually strengthened its control of the waterway, and thousands of cargo ships remain stranded there.
Rubio framed the US’s operation in the strait of Hormuz as a rescue effort, saying that Iran had left thousands of mariners “for dead”. He said the US was trying to reopen the strait “as a favour to the world”, neglecting to mention that its closure is the result of the war the US started.
Meanwhile, the UK maritime authority reported a cargo vessel being struck “by an unknown projectile” in critical waterway.
And for a second consecutive day, the United Arab Emirates said its air defences had shot down missiles and drones from Iran. Tehran did not immediately comment. It comes a day after the UAE said it had intercepted 15 Iranian missiles and four drones.
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Rubio says offensive stage of the war is 'over'
Doubling down on Donald Trump’s argument that he doesn’t need approval from the US Congress to continue the war against Iran, Rubio says that “Operation Epic Fury” has concluded.
The operation is over. Epic Fury - as the president notified Congress - we’re done with that stage of it. We’re now onto this Project of Freedom.
Now the US president wants to reach an agreement with Iran regarding how the strait of Hormuz can be fully reopened, Rubio says.
This is in line with what we’ve heard over the last few days from the Trump administration, which has argued that ongoing US military activity in the strait is “separate” to the war, and therefore doesn’t require congressional approval.
Rubio says US is trying to reopen strait of Hormuz as a 'favour to the world'
Rubio says the US is working to get ships through the strait of Hormuz as a “favour to the world … because we’re the only ones that can”.
He says ships that are currently stranded in the strait (which Iran has effectively closed in retaliation for the war the United States and Israel launched back in February) are holding goods that are essential for the people of other countries, including fuel, fertiliser and humanitarian aid.
It’s their ships that are stranded. Not ours.
He adds that the US is stepping up because “we’re the only ones that can project power in that part of the world”.
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Asked about situation in Lebanon, where Israel continues to launch air strikes and issue forced evacuation orders, Rubio says he thinks “a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is imminently achievable and should be”.
He adds:
The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon, it’s Hezbollah. Hezbollah operates from inside of Lebanese territory. They terrorise and attack Israelis, but they also are inflicting tremendous damage on the Lebanese people.
He says the US hopes that the Lebanese government and armed forces will be able to “begin to challenge Hezbollah and disarm them”.
So far, proposed talks between the leaders of Israel and Lebanon, which were to be mediated by the US, haven’t materialised since they were floated last month. Rubio insists the US is “very committed to this process”.
It’s not going to be easy … this has been going for a very long time.
We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that both sides continue to talk so that progress can be made on some sort of permanent ceasefire that isn’t constantly spoiled by Hezbollah and by Hezbollah violence.
Cargo vessel struck in strait of Hormuz, says UK maritime authority
I’ll bring you more from the briefing shortly, but first the news that a cargo vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile within the strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency has said.
UKMTO said this update was sent to them at 7.30pm UK time.
UKMTO has received a report of an incident within the Strait of Hormuz. A verified source reported a cargo vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile. Environmental impact is unknown at time of report. Vessels are advised to report any suspicious activity to UKMTO, whilst authorities investigate.
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Rubio plays down Trump's feud with the pope ahead of Vatican trip
Rubio denied that his trip to the Vatican this week is designed to “smooth things over” with Pope Leo over Donald Trump’s public criticism of the Pontiff, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the war against Iran.
It’s a trip we had planned from before, and obviously we had some stuff that happened and no, look, there’s a lot to talk about with the Vatican.
Asked about pushback from US lawmakers who feel the US naval blockade is an act of war, Rubio insists that Iran is trying to make its hold on the strait of Hormuz a “new normal”.
Under no circumstances can we ever allow them to normalize the fact that they get to blow up commercial ships and put mines in the water. So the response to that is, we’re going to blockade your ships.
That’s not an act of war, that’s a defensive measure – it’s a counter to what they have decided to do. You know what is an act of war? Putting mines in the water.
Asked if the US has seen any recent indications that Iran is willing to give up its nuclear program, Rubio says this has been a long-standing problem because, “they have always said they don’t want a nuclear weapon, they just don’t mean it.”
He adds:
They have an opportunity here to agree to something that will make it clear that they are not interested.
One thing is to say we don’t want a nuclear weapon, another thing is to do the things that prove you don’t want a nuclear weapon.
Rubio says the time has come for Iran to “make a sensible choice” and take the diplomatic path that could lead to “reconstruction, to prosperity and to stability and to not posing a threat to the world”.
Iran must “accept the reality of the situation” and come to the negotiating table and accept terms that are good for them but also the world, he says.
The alternative is growing isolation, economic collapse, and ultimately total defeat.
“They really shouldn’t test the will of the United States,” he adds.
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The US’s preference, Rubio adds, is “for these straits to be opened to the way they’re supposed to be open, back to the way it was. Anyone can use it. No mines in the water, nobody paying tolls. That’s what we have to get back to, and that’s the goal here.”
Rubio outlines the following claims as the US continues to apply “maximum pressure” on Iran’s economy.
Inflation in Iran is at 70%, he says, and its currency is “in total and complete freefall”.
The US blockade is costing Iran “as much as $500m a day in lost revenue”, Rubio says.
He adds that “90% of total Iranian trade has been halted” by the blockade, resulting in “permanent damage” to Iran’s oil infrastructure.
This is all “crippling” Iran’s economy and it is being done “in response” to Iran’s piracy, he says:
It cannot be that [Iran] has these straits and they blow up any ship that moves, and the only ships that get to go through were theirs.
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A reminder that there is a video feed at the top of the blog if you would like to watch the briefing.
Rubio insists that 'Project Freedom' is a 'defensive operation'
Rubio calls “Project Freedom” a defensive operation.
There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they are attacking us, you need to respond to that.
The US won’t let “some fast boat come up on a ship and shoot it up”, he says. “We’re going to respond and we’ve been been successful at it.”
Rubio says that 10 civilian sailors have died amid the conflict in the strait of Hormuz, and describes others who are stranded in the Gulf as being “held hostage” by Iran.
They’re at the mercy of this piracy … They’re sitting ducks, they’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re vulnerable.
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'Project Freedom' is rescue effort for mariners 'left for dead' in strait of Hormuz, says Rubio
Right off the bat, Rubio goes in framing so-called “Project Freedom” as a rescue effort.
“The goal of it is to, frankly, rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries that are trapped in the Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime,” he says, referring to the crew members who have been stranded at sea amid the strait of Hormuz crisis.
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Marco Rubio holds White House news briefing
US secretary of state Marco Rubio is due to brief reporters at the White House shortly (White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is on maternity leave). I’ll bring you all the key lines here once it gets under way.
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Iran has set up a new body to manage ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported.
Ships trying to get across will be emailed by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to outline “the transit regulations” and “align their procedures with this framework, and then obtain authorisation for passage”.
Iran denies striking UAE in recent days
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command said it has not carried out attacks against the United Arab Emirates in recent days, however warned of a “crushing response” if any action is carried out by the Gulf country against Iran.
The UAE was subject to a second day of what it said were missile and drone attacks from Iran after four weeks of relative calm since the US announced a ceasefire.
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A high-level official from Donald Trump’s administration had informed Iran on Sunday of the impending U.S. operation to “guide” ships through the Strait of Hormuz and warned Tehran not to interfere, Axios reported.
Rachel Reeves had an angry exchange with her US counterpart, Scott Bessent, in Washington last month over the war in Iran, sources have said, in the latest sign of the deepening tensions between the two countries.
The British chancellor and the US treasury secretary argued in person during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, according to people briefed on the exchange, confirming a story first reported by the Financial Times.
The row centred on Reeves’s criticisms over the Iran conflict, which she made in public before the meetings began, triggering an angry backlash from some in the Trump administration.
Criticisms by Reeves and the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, have caused the biggest rift in US-UK relations for decades, with the US president, Donald Trump, threatening to rip up a trade deal and to recognise Argentina’s claims to the Falkland Islands in response.
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Iraq’s prime minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi has spoken by phone with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian and offered to help efforts to mediate between the US and Iran.
In a statement on X, al-Zaidi said he used the call to convey “Iraq’s position in support of the diplomatic path and the adoption of dialogue to resolve disputes and contain crises, affirming Iraq’s ability to contribute to a mediating role between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America.”
Donald Trump last week congratulated Al-Zaidi last week on his nomination, saying the United States looked forward to a “strong, vibrant, and highly productive” relationship with Iraq.
IRGC warns vessels to only transit strait of Hormuz through routes it approves or face 'firm action'
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRCG) navy has issued a renewed threat to ships transiting through the strait of Hormuz not to deviate from routes Iran has previously approved.
In remarks reported by the Fars news agency, the IRCG said:
All vessels intending to transit the strait are warned that the only safe route for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the corridor previously announced by Iran. Any deviation from this route is unsafe and will be met with firm action by the IRGC Navy.
It comes as both Tehran and Washington claim to be in control of the strait after the Unites States launched so-called “Project Freedom”, an effort to support ships to move freely through the critical waterway, and the two sides exchanged fire on Monday.
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth insisted this morning that “Project Freedom” was a “separate and distinct” effort from the ongoing military operation in the region.
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In the Oval Office earlier, Donald Trump also downplayed soaring oil prices as a “small price to pay” for eliminating Iran’s nuclear ambitions, adding that he thought the prices would actually have been higher.
I also thought oil would go up to $200, $250, maybe $300, and I know it will be short term.
I look today, it’s like at 102 [$] and that’s a very small price to pay for getting rid of a nuclear weapon from people that are really mentally deranged.
The price of oil would “neutralize” when the war ends, he added.
The average price of a gallon of gas is now $4.48, according to AAA, up by roughly 50% since the US and Israel launched this war at the end of February.
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The day so far
US president Donald Trump urged Iran Tuesday to “do the smart thing” and make a deal, saying even as a Middle East ceasefire teetered that he did not want to kill more Iranians. “They should do the smart thing, because we don’t want to go in and kill people. Really don’t,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Iran. “I don’t want to, it’s too tough.”
Washington said Iran had not breached a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East conflict on Tuesday, following an exchange of fire between the two sides the previous day as US forces attempted to force open the strait of Hormuz. The US military said it had destroyed six Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones, after president Donald Trump sent the navy to escort stranded tankers through the strait in a campaign he called “Project Freedom”.
Iran does not have “kamikaze dolphins”, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said, but he would not “confirm or deny” whether America does. He was asked about reports of the marine mammals being deployed as weapons by Tehran amid the ongoing Gulf crisis.
The United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry said that its air defences were dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran, a second day of attacks after a four-week period of relative calm since the United States announced a ceasefire. The UAE had earlier said it came under attack from Iran on Monday as the US moved to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed Iran’s airstrikes against Bahrain, and the strait of Hormuz, during a meeting with Bahrain’s king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, earlier. “Our country is facing similar terrorist strikes almost every day, and our people have relevant experience in full-scale defence,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. “Ukraine is ready to share this security expertise with Bahrain and help strengthen the protection of life.”
An Israeli court extended the detention of two Gaza flotilla humanitarian activists until 10 May, the rights group Adalah said. Adalah said it would appeal, according to the Reuters news agency.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is travelling to Beijing today for talks with his Chinese counterpart “on bilateral relations and regional and international developments”, his ministry said on its Telegram account. While Beijing condemned the initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran which started the war in late February, China has largely adopted a posture of neutrality ever since and has urged for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s meeting with Pope Leo on Thursday will include a “frank conversation” about the Trump administration’s policies, the US ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, has said. “Nations have disagreements, and I think one of the ways that you work through those is ... through fraternity and authentic dialogue,” Burch said.
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has condemned the attacks on the US-allied UAE after the Gulf nation was struck by a barrage of missiles and drones yesterday. The UAE came under repeated attacks from Iran for the first time since a ceasefire took hold in early April. One sparked a fire at a key oil facility in Fujairah and injured three Indian nationals, authorities said.
The Israeli military has issued more forced displacement orders for people in southern Lebanon – this time for those in the towns of Jabsheet and Sarafand. In a statement on social media, the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said these residents should evacuate their homes “immediately and move away from the villages and towns for a distance of at least 1000 metres to open areas”.
India’s ministry of external affairs said the attack on Fujairah in the UAE – which injured three Indian nationals – was “unacceptable” and called for an immediate end to the “targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians”. Officials in Fujairah said yesterday that a fire broke out at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone following what they described as a drone attack originating from Iran. Civil defence teams were deployed immediately to contain the blaze, Fujairah Media office said in a statement.
Has Trump's 'Project Freedom' reignited the war with Iran? - podcast
Donald Trump has launched a new operation, dubbed “Project Freedom”, to try to open the strait of Hormuz. Could it spark a re-escalation of the war with Iran and bring an end to the ceasefire?
In today’s edition of The Latest podcast, Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s senior international correspondent Julian Borger.
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The US defence secretary outlined Donald Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday.
Pete Hegseth said the US has established a “powerful red, white and blue dome” across the strait of Hormuz as a “gift to the rest of the world”.
He added that the US blockade remains “iron-clad”.
Trump said the Iranian economy “has been crushed” and said that he wants it to fail.
He said:
I hope it fails. Is that you know why? Because I want to win.
The US president added:
I also thought oil would go up to 200, 250, maybe 300, and I know it would be short term, but I thought it would go.
I look today it’s like at 102 and that’s a very small price to pay for getting rid of a nuclear weapon from people that are really mentally deranged.
Trump also sought to minimize the war with Iran, calling it “a little skirmish.”
“We’re in a little skirmish military. I call it a skirmish, because Iran has no chance. They never did. They know it,” Trump said during an Oval Office event on physical fitness among American kids.
On Monday he called it a “mini-war” and last month he described US military operations against Iran as “a little excursion.”
He added that Iran “wants to make a deal”. Trump said:
As you know, the blockade has been amazing. It’s like a piece of steel. Nobody’s going to challenge the blockade. And I think it’s working out very well. We’re going to say, I can say this; Iran wants to make a deal.
What I don’t like about Iran is they’ll talk to me with such great respect and then they’ll go on television. They’ll say, we did not speak to the president.
Donald Trump says Iran ‘know what not to do’ to avoid violating US-Iran ceasefire
US president Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed Iran’s military capability and when asked what could constitute a violation of a fragile ceasefire, said: “They know what not to do.“
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said:
And, you know, they fired them a little boats with shooters, you know, the peashooter… You know why? Because they don’t have any boats anymore. The Navy is comprised of. They call them little boats, right?
Asked whether he would consider arming the Iranian opposition to help them seize power in the country, the said:
I don’t want to say that, but yeah, I mean, people say, why aren’t they protesting?
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In case you missed it earlier, Iran does not have “kamikaze dolphins”, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said, but he would not “confirm or deny” whether America does.
He was asked about reports of the marine mammals being deployed as weapons by Tehran amid the ongoing Gulf crisis.
Hegseth was speaking at a Pentagon briefing where he outlined steps taken by the US to reopen the strategic strait of Hormuz and free hundreds of stranded cargo vessels.
Responding to a question from the media, Hegseth said: “I can’t confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don’t.”
General Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said: “I haven’t heard about kamikaze dolphins – it’s like sharks with laser beams right?”
Here are some recent images from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Lebanon:
The United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry said that its air defences were dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran, a second day of attacks after a four-week period of relative calm since the United States announced a ceasefire.
The UAE had earlier said it came under attack from Iran on Monday as the US moved to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed Iran’s airstrikes against Bahrain, and the strait of Hormuz, during a meeting with Bahrain’s king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, earlier.
“Our country is facing similar terrorist strikes almost every day, and our people have relevant experience in full-scale defence,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X. “Ukraine is ready to share this security expertise with Bahrain and help strengthen the protection of life.”
“I proposed signing a drone deal and scaling up cooperation with Bahrain, and we agreed that our teams will work out the details,” the Ukrainian leader, who is defending his country against the Russian full-scale invasion, added.
After more than four years of fighting, Ukraine has battle-tested drone interceptor expertise and has developed groundbreaking air defence technology.
Since the US and Israel launched its war on Iran on 28 February, Ukraine has been offering its drones and know-how to several Middle Eastern countries suffering from Iranian drone attacks.
Ukraine says it has now signed deals with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. In return for its aid to Gulf countries, Ukraine is seeking more high-end air-defence missiles that they possess and that Kyiv needs to counter Russia’s attacks.
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At the Downing Street lobby briefing in the UK, the PM’s spokesperson did not deny a report in the Financial Times saying that Rachel Reeves, the British chancellor, and Scott Bessent, her US opposite number, had a “fierce row” about the Iran war when they met in Washington last month.
In their FT story, Jim Pickard, Sam Fleming and Claire Jones say:
When the pair met later that day [after Reeves told a CNBC event she did not know why the Americans started the war] Bessent berated Reeves over the remarks, according to people familiar with the situation.
The Treasury secretary insisted the world was safer because of the US-Israeli war against Iran, even invoking the spectre of Tehran launching a nuclear attack on London. Reeves responded angrily by telling Bessent she did not work for him and disliked how he had spoken to her.
She also reiterated her argument about the Iran conflict lacking clear goals and not necessarily making the world safer.
The FT also said that Reeves and Bessent had spoken since the incident, and that on other issues they worked well together.
Asked about the story, the spokesperson said:
Although I wouldn’t get into private conversations, the chancellor and the US Treasury Secretary have a good relationship. They have had constructive conversations together since the chancellor’s visits to Washington. There is a readout from the US Department of the Treasury, which made clear the productive nature of their relationship.
Spain on Tuesday renewed a demand for the “immediate release” of a Spanish activist who participated in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and is held in Israel after his detention was extended until Sunday.
Spain’s consul in Tel Aviv will continue to visit Saif Abu Keshek, “providing full protection and in permanent contact with his family”, foreign ministry sources said. “The government of Spain demands his immediate release and that all his rights be respected.”
Hegseth says ceasefire 'is not over'
Hegseth says the ceasefire “is not over” despite the attacks from Iran on commercial shipping vessels.
“We said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we absolutely have. Iran knows that, and ultimately, the president can make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire,” he said.
Asked what the threshold for restarting major operations would be, Caine says it is a political decision.
He adds that current Iranian action is “low level” and amounts to “harassment” at this moment in time.
Meanwhile, Hegseth chief tells a journalist that, contrary to reports, Iran does not have “kamikaze dolphins”.
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Caine says some 22,500 mariners remain trapped in the strait of Hormuz and are unable to transit.
He says commercial vessels in the region will feel US military power around them in the seas and the skies.
The joint force is “ready to resume major combat operations” against Iran if ordered to do, he adds.
Joint chiefs of the staff chair Dan Caine says Iran has continued to attack its neighbours, referring to yesterday’s strikes on Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Speaking about Operation Freedom, he says Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships since the ceasefire was announced.
General Caine says the Iranian attacks have all fallen below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point.
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The US will not need to enter Iranian airspace or waters as part of the reopening of the strait of Hormuz, Hegseth says.
“Hundreds of ships are lining up to transit” the strait, he says. This is a “temporary mission” for the US, he adds.
“Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission, protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression. American forces won’t need to enter Iranian waters or airspace. It’s not necessary. We’re not looking for a fight.” Hegseth says during a briefing.
However, Hegseth says that Iran “will face overwhelming firepower” if it attacks commercial shipping and that he expects the rest of the world to “step up” to protect the waterway “at the appropriate time”.
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Hegseth kicks off the press conference by talking about Project Freedom, which he says is separate from the wider war operation Project Epic Fury.
The Pentagon chief says Iran has acted aggressively towards “innocent countries” whose ships are trying to pass through the strait of Hormuz.
He says Iran is “embarrassed” and although it says it controls the strait, “it does not”.
Hegseth says the United States has established a “dome” across the strait as a “gift to the rest of the world”. The blockade remains “iron-clad” and in force, he says.
Six ships tried to break through the blockade from Iranian ports, he adds, but they were stopped by US forces.
Pete Hegseth due to give Iran war briefing
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, is due to give a media briefing on the US-Israeli war on Iran shortly, alongside General Dan Caine, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff. Stay with us as we will be covering it live. You can watch the feed below:
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UAE restricts airspace after missile and drone attack
The UAE has restricted flights to a handful of approved routes until at least 11 May, only two days after the Gulf country lifted all precautionary airspace measures and said its airspace was clear.
The UAE said yesterday that its air defences were responding to Iranian missiles and drones, forcing flights to divert to Oman’s capital Muscat and circle over Saudi Arabia.
As we reported in an earlier post, an unnamed Iranian military official said Iran had “no pre-planned programme” to attack oil facilities in the UAE. These comments came after the UAE accused Tehran of striking its Fujairah oil industry zone on Monday.
Nine countries are known to have nuclear weapons: China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the US and the UK.
Along with Israel, the US and its western allies are unequivocal in demanding that Iran never develops a nuclear bomb.
The US and Israel bombed Iranian nuclear facilities last June, and justifying his declaration of the current war on Iran in late February, Donald Trump claimed that Iran – primarily through its nuclear programme – posed an “imminent threat” (which is not true).
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and that it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons.
But Iran, as of April, did have about 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that was enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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Democrats urge Trump administration to publicly recognise Israel's nuclear weapons programme
A group of House Democrats is urging the Trump administration to publicly acknowledge Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons programme, according to a report in the Washington Post.
“Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be fully informed about the nuclear balance in the Middle East, the risk of escalation by any party to this conflict, and the administration’s planning and contingencies for such scenarios,” the more than two dozen lawmakers reportedly wrote in a letter to the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio.
“We do not believe we have received that information,” they wrote.
Israel has never confirmed or denied possessing nuclear weapons but instead maintains a policy of ambiguity.
However, Israel is widely believed to have at least 90 warheads, according to this House of Commons Library research briefing, and a nuclear weapons capability which it developed outside the framework of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, under which states without nuclear weapons pledged not to acquire them, as long as the weapons states made good faith efforts to disarm.
In 2008, former Democratic president Jimmy Carter said Israel held at least 150 nuclear weapons, in what was the first time an American president had publicly acknowledged Israel’s atomic arsenal.
An Israeli court extended the detention of two Gaza flotilla humanitarian activists until 10 May, the rights group Adalah said. Adalah said it would appeal, according to the Reuters news agency.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is travelling to Beijing later today for talks with his Chinese counterpart “on bilateral relations and regional and international developments”, his ministry said on its Telegram account.
While Beijing condemned the initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran which started the war in late February, China has largely adopted a posture of neutrality ever since and has urged for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
Despite China being the largest buyer of Iranian oil, its fossil fuel stockpiles and diversified energy mix protected it from the worst of the oil shock that resulted from the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz (to what Iran described as “hostile” countries – crucially not China).
Donald Trump is scheduled to visit China on 14-15 May to see President Xi Jinping – his first trip to the rival power since returning to the White House in January 2025.
During Trump’s first year back in office, Washington and Beijing clashed over trade and tariffs until a truce was declared in October, when Trump and Xi met in South Korea.
“I’m going to go see President Xi in two weeks. I look forward to that,” Trump said yesterday during a White House event. “Actually it’ll be a very important trip.”
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent urged China to intensify its diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to open the strait of Hormuz to international shipping.
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Iran had “no pre-planned programme” to attack oil facilities in the UAE, Iranian state TV quoted a military official as saying, after the UAE blamed Iran for a drone strike at an energy installation in Fujairah (see post at 09.20 for more details).
“What happened was the product of the US military’s adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through” the strait of Hormuz, the official said. “The US military must be held accountable for it.”
US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s meeting with Pope Leo on Thursday will include a “frank conversation” about the Trump administration’s policies, the US ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, has said.
“Nations have disagreements, and I think one of the ways that you work through those is ... through fraternity and authentic dialogue,” Burch said.
“I think the secretary is coming here in that spirit,” he added. “To have a frank conversation about US policy, to engage in dialogue.”
Rubio’s trip, which coincides with the first anniversary of Leo’s papacy, comes weeks after Trump lashed out at the Chicago-born pontiff over his condemnation of the unprovoked US-Israeli war on Iran, widely seen to have been launched illegally. Trump called him weak and said he was not doing a very good job as pontiff.
Leo stirred the ire of Trump after he suggested a “delusion of omnipotence” was fuelling the war and called the president’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilisation if Iran did not agree to US demands to end the war and open the strait of Hormuz as “truly unacceptable”.
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Pakistan prime minister condemns attacks on UAE
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has condemned the attacks on the US-allied UAE after the Gulf nation was struck by a barrage of missiles and drones yesterday.
The UAE came under repeated attacks from Iran for the first time since a ceasefire took hold in early April. One sparked a fire at a key oil facility in Fujairah and injured three Indian nationals, authorities said.
In a post to X this morning, Sharif expressed his full solidarity with UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates last night,” he wrote.
“Pakistan stands firmly with our Emirati brothers and sisters as well as with the government of the United Arab Emirates at this difficult time. It is absolutely essential that the ceasefire be upheld and respected, to allow necessary diplomatic space for dialogue leading to enduring peace and stability in the region.”
Pakistan is playing a crucial mediating role between Iran and the US, having hosted a first round of peace talks in Islamabad in April. It continues to relay messages between the two sides even if an agreement looks increasingly elusive.
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The internet blackout in Iran has entered its 67th day, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks, as the regime continues one of the longest-running national internet shutdowns ever recorded. NetBlocks said in a social media post:
The internet blackout in Iran is now entering its 67th day after passing incident hour 1584. The digital censorship measure casts a veil of silence around the growing number of reported executions, denying victims visibility, accountability, and the basic right to be heard.
Senior government officials are awarded “white” SIM cards granting them access to the global internet while the vast majority of the population remains completely cut off.
Under pressure to alleviate the economic harm the shutdown is causing, the government is now allowing less-restricted internet access to a small number of professions, businesses and friendly media.
There was an earlier internet shutdown in January during nationwide protests, which helped obscure extreme violence against Iran’s population.
The oil price has dipped slightly this morning, after a jump on Monday.
Brent crude is down almost 1% at $113.41 a barrel, a day after jumping by 5.8% after the US launched an operation to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
You can track the latest business news here:
Continuation of status quo 'intolerable' for US, says Iran's top negotiator
The Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a post on X this morning that a “new equation of the strait of Hormuz is in the process of being solidified” and warned that the continuation of the “status quo” was an “intolerable” position for the US to maintain.
Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator, added:
The security of shipping and energy transit has been jeopardised by the United States and its allies through the violation of the ceasefire and the imposition of a blockade; of course, their evil will diminish.
We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet.
Iran imposed a blockade on foreign shipping using the strait of Hormuz soon after the war began with a US-Israeli attack on 28 February which killed the country’s former supreme leader. The US president, Donald Trump, imposed a counter-blockade of ships using Iranian ports on 13 April.
Trump’s so-called “Project Freedom”, which began yesterday, says its aim is to use the US military to guide stranded cargo ships out of the strategic waterway. But in doing so it makes the resumption of war much more likely as Iran’s military central command warned that it would strike any US naval vessel approaching the strait.
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The Israeli military has issued more forced displacement orders for people in southern Lebanon – this time for those in the towns of Jabsheet and Sarafand.
In a statement on social media, the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said these residents should evacuate their homes “immediately and move away from the villages and towns for a distance of at least 1000 metres to open areas”.
Signalling upcoming airstrikes, Adraee claimed the IDF are “compelled to act forcefully against” Hezbollah, which he said had violated the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon that came into effect in mid April.
Hezbollah, which has been striking Israeli troops in Lebanon, says it will not cease its attacks on Israeli troops inside Lebanon and on towns in northern Israel as long as Israel continued its ceasefire violations.
Israel has been accused of violating the ceasefire agreement many times, with strikes killing civilians and homes continuing to be demolished despite the military saying it is only targeting Hezbollah sites.
Under the agreement’s terms, Israel was effectively given permission to continue its assault on Lebanon as it retained a “right to take all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks”.
India’s ministry of external affairs said the attack on Fujairah in the UAE – which injured three Indian nationals – was “unacceptable” and called for an immediate end to the “targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians”.
Officials in Fujairah said yesterday that a fire broke out at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone following what they described as a drone attack originating from Iran. Civil defence teams were deployed immediately to contain the blaze, Fujairah Media office said in a statement.
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Opening summary: US targets Iranian boats amid tense push for control of strait of Hormuz
We are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The US and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf on Monday as they wrestled for control over the strait of Hormuz amid dual maritime blockades, taking the region back to the brink of full-scale war.
The fresh volleys of missiles and drones came after Donald Trump launched a new effort to get stranded tankers and other ships through the vital energy and trade route that has been virtually shut since the US-Israeli war against Iran began in late February.
On Monday, several merchant ships in the Gulf reported explosions or fires, the US said it had destroyed six small Iranian military boats – a claim Tehran denied – and Iran attacked the UAE with drones and missiles, setting the oil port of Fujairah on fire.
The US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said two US-flagged merchant vessels crossed through the strait of Hormuz on Monday as US navy destroyers operated in the Gulf. Shipping company Maersk later said one of its US-flagged commercial vessels had successfully exited the strait under US military escort.
In other key developments:
Trump warned that Iran’s forces would be “blown off the face of the earth” if they attacked US vessels trying to reopen a route through the strait. The president announced the US operation – called Project Freedom – on Monday to help hundreds of ships trapped in the Gulf.
Centcom chief Adm Brad Cooper declined to say whether he thought the ceasefire with Tehran that begun on 8 April remained in effect amid Iranian attacks in the region but acknowledged Iran’s Revolutionary Guards tried to “interfere” with Trump’s operation.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Monday’s events showed there was no military solution to the crisis. He said peace talks were progressing with Pakistan’s mediation and warned the US and the UAE against being drawn into a “quagmire by ill-wishers”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that no commercial vessels had crossed the strait in the past few hours, and that US claims to the contrary were false. Iranian state media also denied reports the US had sunk Iranian vessels.
The UK and Saudi Arabia both called for de-escalation after Iran’s attacks on the UAE – the first on the US ally since Washington’s ceasefire with Tehran took effect about a month ago.
In Oman, two people were injured by an attack on a residential building in Bukha, on the Hormuz strait’s coastline, an Omani state news agency reported.
A fire on a South Korean-operated vessel that had an explosion in the Hormuz strait has been extinguished, ship operator HMM said. South Korea’s foreign ministry said all 24 crew on the HMM Namu – including six South Koreans – were unharmed. Trump blamed an Iranian attack.
International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that inflation was already picking up and the global economy could face a “much worse outcome” if the war dragged into 2027 and oil prices hit about $125 a barrel.
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