Ceasefire on the brink as US and Iran trade blows in Strait of Hormuz

HEADLINES IN BRIEF

• US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was still in place, despite exchanges of fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz. "They trifled with us today. We blew them away," he told reporters in Washington, insisting that talks were "going very well." READ MORE BELOW

• The US military said that Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats at the three US warships, but none were hit. US forces "eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible" for the attack, Central Command said in a post on X. READ MORE BELOW

• The United Arab Emirates said its air defenses engaged missiles and drones coming from Iran. Its defense ministry said on X that interception sounds were heard "across various parts of the country."

• Oil prices, which fell around 10% over the past three days, rose more than 1% on Friday as US-Iran clashes in the Strait of Hormuz jolted hopes that the conflict will end soon.

• Around 1,500 ships and 20,000 crewmen remained trapped in the Gulf due to the Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, the UN's International Maritime Organization chief Arsenio Dominguez said in Panama.

• Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that he has asked Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan for support in efforts to repatriate Pakistani and Iranian seafarers who are on board vessels seized by US forces and currently nearing Singaporean waters.

• China's Foreign Ministry has said it is "extremely concerned" about the large number of ships affected by the tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. It said that a Chinese tanker was attacked in the strait, adding that there are Chinese citizens on board the vessel, but no reported crew casualties so far.

• Lebanon's health ministry reported at least 12 people killed, including two children and a paramedic, in a series of Israeli airstrikes. READ MORE BELOW

• Israel has issued a forced displacement order to residents of al-Abbassieh, a village in southern Lebanon east of Tyre, saying that they "must evacuate" their homes without delay and "move away from the village for a distance of no less than 1,000 meters to open areas."

• Lebanon and Israel will hold a new round of talks on May 14-15 in Washington, seeking a peace deal, a US official said. READ MORE BELOW

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he had met the country's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March.

• China will raise retail gasoline prices by 320 yuan ($47.02) per metric ton starting May 9, as part of a regular price review, with retail diesel prices increasing by 310 yuan ($44.55) per metric ton, the country’s state planner says. The move comes as China returns to raising the price caps after lowering them in April to mitigate rising oil prices from the war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

• French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot says he did not expect major flight cancellations this summer by ⁠airlines due to a shortage of jet fuel. Most airlines have ⁠no interest in canceling flights during the summer when they make most of their revenues, though some have slightly reduced ‌their traffic, he said.

IN DETAIL

Trump insists US-Iran ceasefire still in place

US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was still in place despite an Iranian attack on three US destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz that fanned fears that the truce was faltering.

The US military said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets in response, although Tehran charged that it was Washington that had initiated the exchange of fire.

The latest violence threatens to unravel a fragile truce in effect since April 8 that brought an end to weeks of US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic republic, which has retaliated with strikes across the Middle East and by blocking the strait, a vital route for oil and gas shipments.

The United Arab Emirates said that its air defenses were "engaging missile and drone attacks originating from Iran."

Asked in Washington if the Iran ceasefire was still on, Trump said: "Yeah, it is. They trifled with us today. We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle."

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that Iranian forces launched "multiple missiles, drones and small boats" at the three US warships, but none were hit, and that it "eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible."

"CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces," it said.

For its part, Iran's central military command accused the United States of violating the ceasefire by attacking an oil tanker and another ship, saying Tehran's forces "immediately and in retaliation attacked American military vessels."

After the clash, President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "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!" he said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had struck an optimistic tone prior to the exchanges of fire, saying in televised remarks: "I firmly believe that this ceasefire will turn into a long-term ceasefire."

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran would communicate its position to mediator Pakistan "after finalizing its views."

Israel-Lebanon peace talks set to resume

A US State Department official confirmed that the new Israel-Lebanon talks would take place on May 14 and 15.

It will be the third meeting in recent months between the two countries, which have technically been at war for decades and have no diplomatic relations.

Lebanon's health ministry reported at least 12 people killed, including two children and a paramedic, in a series of Israeli airstrikes. The new deaths came a day after Israel killed a Hezbollah commander in its first attack on Beirut's southern suburbs since the shaky truce sought to end weeks of fighting.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that a peace deal between the two sides was "eminently achievable," insisting Hezbollah was the sticking point, rather than any issue between the two governments.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Any agreement between the United States and Iran could also help lower tensions in Lebanon.