US expects Iranian response to peace proposal on May 8, fighting flares in Gulf

WASHINGTON/CAIRO – The US said it expected an Iranian response as soon as later in the day on May 8 to its latest proposal to end the war in the Gulf, even as US and Iranian forces clashed in the Gulf and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came under renewed attack.

Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the contested Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, despite the US and Iran indicating they were closer than ever to a deal to end the war.

“We should know something today,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Rome.

“We’re expecting a response from them... The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Tehran was still weighing its response.

Sporadic clashes between Iranian armed forces and US vessels were taking place in the Strait of Hormuz on May 8, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The US military said it had struck two more Iran-linked vessels that were trying to enter an Iranian port. A US fighter jet had hit the vessels’ smokestacks and prevented them from entering Iran.

US President Donald Trump said on May 7 that a ceasefire was still holding despite the flare-ups.

Washington is awaiting Tehran’s response to a US proposal, which would formally end the war first, before talks to resolve the most contentious issues, such as the fate of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Mehr news agency reported that explosions were heard in Iran’s Sirik near the Strait of Hormuz on May 8.

Mr Trump said three US Navy destroyers were attacked as they moved through the strait, and the US military had fired back.

“Three world-class American destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He later told reporters that the ceasefire remained in effect and played down the exchange.

“They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Mr Trump said in Washington.

Iran accuses US of breaching truce

Iran accused the US of breaching the ceasefire, which had largely held since it was announced on April 7 but has come under far greater strain this week since Mr Trump announced – and then paused – a new naval mission to force open the strait.

“Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the US opts for a reckless military adventure,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on May 8.

Iran’s top joint military command said US forces had targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and carried out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby coastal areas. Iranian forces responded by attacking US military vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar.

A spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the Iranian strikes inflicted “significant damage”, but US Central Command said none of its assets was hit.

Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that one crew member was killed, 10 wounded, and four were missing after the US Navy attacked an Iranian commercial ship late on May 7 in waters near the strait, the vital conduit for global energy supplies that Tehran has all but closed since the war began.

The confrontation was not confined to the waterway. The UAE said its air defences engaged two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on May 8, resulting in three moderate injuries.

During the war, Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host US military bases.

In what the UAE called a “major escalation”, Iran stepped up attacks on its neighbour this week after Mr Trump announced Project Freedom to escort ships in the strait, which he then paused after 48 hours.

Oil prices hovers around US$100

In a separate incident, Iranian forces seized oil tanker Ocean Koi in the Gulf of Oman, east of the strait, over an alleged attempt to disrupt Iran’s oil exports, state media said on May 8, quoting an army statement.

It said the Barbados-flagged tanker, which is under US sanctions, was carrying Iranian oil and “was trying to harm and disrupt oil exports... by exploiting regional conditions”, without giving further explanation.

Oil prices held steady, with Brent crude futures hovering around US$100 a barrel, as traders weigh the conflicting signals of clashes in the Gulf against reports of diplomatic progress.

Trump urges negotiated end to war

The latest US proposal would formally end the conflict first, before addressing Washington’s core demands – that Iran suspend its nuclear programme and reopen the strait. Tehran, which had made a similar proposal last week, said it had not yet reached a decision on the US plan.

Mr Trump said Tehran acknowledged his demand that Iran could never get a nuclear weapon, a prohibition he said was implicit in the US proposal.

“There’s zero chance. And they know that, and they’ve agreed to that. Let’s see if they are willing to sign it,” he said. Iran has always said its nuclear programme is peaceful and that it is not pursuing a weapon.

Asked when any deal might be reached, Mr Trump said: “It might not happen, but it could happen any day.” REUTERS