US says Iran ceasefire not breached despite exchange of fire in Gulf

DUBAI/WASHINGTON – The US said Iran had not breached a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East conflict on May 5, 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 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.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation to protect commercial ships was temporary and that the four-week-old ceasefire was not over.

“We’re not looking for a fight,” he told reporters on May 5. “Right now the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely.”

Iran fired missiles at US ships on May 4 and attacked the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a key regional ally of Washington, with missiles and drones.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a social media post on May 5 that breaches of the four-week-old ceasefire by the US and its allies had endangered shipping and energy transit through the vital waterway.

“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.

Attacks in the Gulf

The narrow waterway, which carries a large share of global supplies of oil, fertiliser and other commodities, has been virtually closed since the US and Israel began attacks on Iran on Feb 28, causing price rises around the world.

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.

Several merchant ships in the Gulf reported explosions or fires on May 4, and an oil port in the UAE, which hosts a large US military base, was set ablaze by Iranian missiles.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has effectively closed the strait with the threat of mines, drones, missiles and fast-attack craft. The US has responded with a blockade of Iranian ports.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said May 4’s events showed that 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”.

He was travelling to Beijing on May 5 for talks with his Chinese counterpart, his ministry said.

The US military said two US merchant ships made it through the strait, without saying when, with the support of navy guided-missile destroyers.

While Iran denied any crossings had taken place, shipping company Maersk said the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged ship, exited the Gulf under US military escort on May 4.

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 boats, killing five civilians.

Iran also said on May 4 that it had fired on a US warship approaching the strait, forcing it to turn around. Iranian officials later described the fire as warning shots.

Reuters could not independently verify events in the strait as the two sides issued contradictory statements.

South Korea said one of its merchant ships, HMM Namu, suffered an explosion and fire in its engine room while in the strait, though no one aboard was hurt. A South Korean government spokesperson said it was unclear if the fire was caused by an attack.

General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that since the ceasefire was announced on April 7, Iran had fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships.

He said Iran has attacked US forces more than 10 times. However, the attacks fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point”, he told reporters.

UAE oil port ablaze

The Iranian authorities released a map of what they said was an expanded sea area now under their control, extending far beyond the strait to include long stretches of the UAE’s coastline.

After reported drone and missile attacks inside the UAE throughout the day, 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.

The Iranian map included Fujairah and another Emirati port, Khorfakkan, both of which lie on the Gulf of Oman and which the UAE has relied on since the start of the conflict to bypass the blocked strait.

If Iran were able to enforce control over access to those ports, it would amount to a near-total maritime siege of the Gulf Arab state.

Iran’s state television network said military officials had confirmed that they attacked the UAE in response to the “US military’s adventurism”.

Peace efforts stalled

The war in the Middle East has cost thousands of lives 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.

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”.

Iranian state media said on May 3 that the US had conveyed its response to a 14-point Iranian proposal via Pakistan, and Iran was reviewing it. Neither side gave details.

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.

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 that he was still studying it, but would likely reject it. He has insisted Iran must surrender its enriched uranium stockpiles to prevent it producing a nuclear weapon – an ambition Tehran denies. REUTERS