Iran-US War Ceasefire Highlights: US pushes to reopen Strait of Hormuz as Iranian attacks on UAE strain ceasefire

The US military said on Monday it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as Tehran sought to thwart a new U.S. naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump launched the operation, called Project Freedom, on Monday as he sought to wrest control of the critical waterway from Iran, which effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Israel started the conflict on February 28.

Iranian state media has reported that six so-called Iranian fast boats targeted by the US military on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz were not IRGC-affiliated speedboats, but civilian vessels carrying goods and passengers and five people were killed in the attack.

A military official told the Tasnim news agency that an investigation was carried out by Iranian authorities after the US reports and its was found that US forces had “attacked and fired upon two small cargo boats carrying civilians that were moving from Khasab on the coast of Oman towards the Iranian coast”.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is leading the US war on Iran, said that Sea Hawk and Apache attack helicopters were used in the reported targeting of six Iranian fast boats on Monday, which Washington said were destroyed while attempting to interfere with commercial shipping amid US operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The helicopters “were used to eliminate Iranian small boats threatening commercial shipping”, CENTCOM said in a post on X.

CENTCOM also said that more than 100 aircraft – both land-based and on board two US aircraft carriers in the Gulf region – are now taking part in Operation Freedom to reopen the strait and escort ships through the waterway.

Seoul said a South Korean-operated ship had an explosion and caught fire on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz, in an incident which US President Donald Trump said was caused by an Iranian attack.

The South Korean foreign ministry said a fire and an explosion occurred on the vessel operated by South Korean shipper HMM. It added that no casualties were reported and authorities were investigating what ⁠caused ​the blaze.

Trump said Iran fired shots at the South Korean cargo ship and some other targets as the US launched an operation seeking to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. He urged South Korea to join that effort.

The head of the International Monetary Fund on Monday warned that inflation was already picking up and the global economy could face a "much worse outcome" if the war in the Middle East drags into 2027 and oil prices hit around $125 per barrel.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the continuation of the war meant that the global lender's "reference scenario" assuming a short-lived conflict - which forecast a minor growth ⁠slowdown ​to 3.1% and a minor increase in prices to 4.4% - was no longer possible.

More now on Keir Starmer’s comments: the British prime minister also condemned Iran’s drone and missile strikes targeting the United Arab Emirates.

Starmer called on Iran to engage in diplomacy to prevent further escalation in the Middle East, the prime minister’s office said on Monday, cited by Reuters.

Starmer said: "We stand in solidarity with the UAE and will continue to support the defence of our partners in the Gulf. This escalation must cease. Iran needs to engage meaningfully in negotiations to ensure the ceasefire in the Middle East endures, and a long-term diplomatic solution is achieved.”

Yadollah Javani, deputy political officer of the IRGC, warned that any US attempt to intervene in the Strait of Hormuz would be met with a “decisive and crushing response”.

“Trump’s problem today is the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. He knocked on every door during the 40-day war and afterwards, but to no avail,” Javani told Iran’s ISNA news agency.

He said the US leader is seeking to open the waterway by “putting pressure” on Iran.

“This means that America is no longer a superpower; it has faced a superpower,” he said, echoing earlier remarks by Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, adding that US losses would far exceed Iran’s.

“The US will test its strength, bring all its might to bear, and will ultimately be defeated,” Javani said.

Pakistan said Foreign Minister ⁠Mohammad ​Ishaq Dar held a ​telephone ​conversation with ⁠Iranian counterpart ‌Seyed Abbas Araqchi on Sunday night, ⁠where ⁠both ⁠parties ‌discussed the ​regional ‌situation and Pakistan's ‌ongoing ​diplomatic ​efforts.

Shipping executives are expressing caution over Project Freedom, the US operation starting Monday to guide trapped neutral ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

“It takes both sides to unblock — not just one,” said Bjørn Højgaard, CEO of ship manager Anglo-Eastern. “Either party can signal that they are willing to let certain ships through, but unless the other side accepts that in practice, it doesn’t materially change the reality on the water.”

“Announcements are one thing — safe and predictable passage is another.”

The new Hormuz Strait initiative will not necessarily include ⁠U.S. ​Navy ships escorting commercial ships, ​Axios ​reporter Barak ⁠Ravid said in a ‌post on X late on Sunday.

U.S. Navy ⁠ships ⁠will be "in the ⁠vicinity" ‌in ​the event ‌they need to prevent ‌Iran's ​military ​from ​attacking commercial ​ships moving through strait, ⁠Ravid said.

It’s been another deadly day here in Lebanon. It comes after the Lebanese government warned over the weekend that the crisis has reached a peak, with more than 40 people being killed in a span of two days.

Israeli strikes have continued in southern Lebanon this evening. There are reports of deadly strikes in multiple locations here in the south.

In the early afternoon, there was a deadly strike in the town of Arab Salim. There was another attack by Israeli troops on a medical facility in the town of Srifa, outside of Tyre, where at least four paramedics were injured.

Hezbollah says it has carried out 11 operations over the past 24 hours, deploying drones, rockets and artillery against invading Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

In a statement on Telegram, the Lebanese armed group said the operations were conducted “in defense of Lebanon and its people” and in response to Israel’s continued attacks on civilians, despite a US-brokered ceasefire.

The group said it targeted Israeli troops in the towns of Naqoura, Biyyada, Qantara and Hula, as well as a military site established in the town of Blat. Some six of the operations were carried out in Biyyada.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei made it clear that this 14-point plan is about ending the war and reaching an agreement to do so, while postponing the most critical issues for a later stage.

He also made it clear that this will be approached in two phases.

The first phase is to reach an agreement and fully end this war. The second phase, within 30 days, is to discuss that agreement and how it will be implemented.

The United States will launch an effort on Monday to “guide” stranded ships from the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said, giving few details about what could be a sweeping effort to help hundreds of vessels and some 20,000 seafarers.

Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that “neutral and innocent” countries have been affected by the Iran war, and “we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.”

“Project Freedom” would begin on Monday morning in the Middle East, Trump said, adding that his representatives are having discussions with Iran that could lead to something “very positive for all.”

US Central Command said the initiative would involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members. The Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about how they would be deployed.

Israel has chosen Greece to advance its regional ambitions and will exploit Greek fears and insecurity to do so, the UN special rapporteur on Palestine says, as she also warned against the broader “Israelization of Europe”.

Speaking at a presentation of her new book ‘When the World Sleeps: Stories, Words and Wounds of Palestine’ at the Trianon cinema in Athens, Francesca Albanese cautioned that some circles in Greece hold a “wrong perception” of their alliance with Israel.

“You think that you have chosen Israel in order to secure peace from your eternal enemy. I don’t think so,” Albanese said. “Israel has picked you. Israel has chosen you, and it’s going to exploit your fears and your insecurity, because this is what Israel does to advance its regional hegemony” .

Donald Trump said on Saturday he was going to review a new peace proposal from Tehran but cast doubt over its prospects, saying Iran had not yet “paid a big enough price”.

Two semiofficial Iranian news outlets, Tasnim and Fars, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said Iran had sent the US a new 14-point proposal via Pakistan.

“I’ll let you know about it later,” Trump said of the proposal on Saturday, before boarding Air Force One, adding that “they’re going to give me the exact wording now”.

Shortly after speaking to reporters, Trump posted on social media about the new proposal, saying he “can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years.”

Seven members of OPEC+ will meet today to decide on oil production levels for the first time since the UAE left the group.

The UAE, a major global oil producer, officially left OPEC and the larger OPEC+ group on Friday. According to analysts, it decided to quit on April 28 because it was unhappy with the limits the group placed on how much oil it could produce.

The seven countries are expected to raise their daily production by 188,000 barrels, according to traders.

The Israeli military has issued evacuation orders to residents of several towns in southern Lebanon, directing them to leave their homes and move to open areas. The directive covers multiple communities near the border as cross-border hostilities continue.

The US State Department has authorised a series of major weapons sales to allies in the Middle East, totalling approximately $8.6bn in military hardware and support services.

The deals cover Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, according to statements published on the State Department’s website.

Qatar is set to receive Patriot Air and Missile Defence replenishment services and equipment worth $4.01bn, while Kuwait has been cleared for a $2.5bn Integrated Battle Command System.

Israel and the UAE have each been approved for Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems, valued at $992m and $147m, respectively.

An Iranian supertanker carrying nearly $220 million worth of oil has evaded US blockade efforts, TankerTrackers reported Sunday.

"A National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) VLCC supertanker carrying over 1.9 million barrels (valued at nearly $220 million dollars) of crude oil has managed to evade the U.S. Navy and reach the Far East," TankerTrackers wrote on US social media platform X.

The vessel, identified as “HUGE” (9357183), was last seen off Sri Lanka more than a week ago and is currently moving through the Lombok Strait in Indonesia toward the Riau Archipelago.