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Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War
Fri 8 May 2026 at 12:38pm
Iran and the US have been wrestling for control of the Strait of Hormuz. (West Asia News Agency via Reuters)
Renewed hostilities have broken out between Iran and the United States, with each side claiming the other initiated attacks on military and civilian targets.
Iran accused the US of violating a ceasefire by targeting two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas.
The US military said it acted in self-defence after Iran launched "unprovoked" strikes on three of its navy destroyers passing through the strait.
Iran war live updates: For the latest news on the Middle East crisis, read our blog.
The fighting kicked off as Washington was awaiting Iran's response to a US proposal that would stop the fighting.
This is what both sides said about the spike in tensions.
The US military said it intercepted Iranian attacks on three navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and "targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking US forces".
The exchange occurred as US Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.
US Central Command claimed the attacks were "unprovoked" and it responded in "self-defence".
The US military said no ships were hit, but it remained "positioned and ready to protect American forces".
The US has a large naval build-up in the region, including three aircraft carriers. (Reuters: Alex Brandon/Pool)
US President Donald Trump said the destroyers came under attack from Iranian speed boats, missiles and drones.
Iran is using its so-called mosquito fleet of small attack boats to continue to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
He took to social media to boast that "great damage" was done to the Iranian attackers.
"These boats went to the bottom of the Sea, quickly and efficiently," Mr Trump posted on Truth Social.
"Missiles were shot at our Destroyers, and were easily knocked down.
"Likewise, drones came, and were incinerated while in the air. They dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave! A normal Country would have allowed these Destroyers to pass, but Iran is not a normal Country."
Iran's central military command claimed Tehran's forces also acted in "retaliation" when it "attacked American military vessels".
Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker travelling from Iran's coastal waters near Jask toward the Strait of Hormuz and another vessel entering the waterway.
The US has also been accused of carrying out air strikes on civilian areas along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik and Qeshm Island with the cooperation of "some regional countries".
Qeshm is the largest Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, home to about 150,000 people.
It also houses a water desalination plant.
Iranian state media reported loud noises and defensive fire in western Tehran.
In southern Iran, explosions were heard near Bandar Abbas, semi-official Iranian news agencies said.
Mr Trump told an ABC News America reporter that the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to downplay the exchange.
"It's just a love tap," Mr Trump told the reporter, according to her social media post.
Iran's Press TV reported that following several hours of fire, "the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities by the Strait of Hormuz is back to normal now".
A patrol boat moves through the water as cargo ships sit at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
Retired US Army Major General Randy Manner said the strikes did not mean the ceasefire was over.
"If it is indeed as it has been described, then I would not regard this as a violation of the ceasefire because it was defensive measures," he told CNN.
"If the Iranians fired at US Navy ships, then the US Navy has every right to protect itself.
Mr Trump later told reporters it would be obvious if the ceasefire was over.
"You won't have to know if there's no ceasefire," he said.
"You'll just have to look at one big glow coming out of Iran."
The escalating attacks raised the threat of a complete breakdown in the ceasefire, which has been in place since last month.
Iran reviews a new peace-deal proposal from the US, which President Donald Trump says could end the war, but an Iranian official describes it as an "American wish list".
Shortly before the latest exchanges, Mr Trump said the US and Iran had "good talks" and he was confident a deal could be reached in the coming days.
It has been reported the two sides were closing in on a 14-point memorandum of understanding to end the war, which included reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
While this was a step in the right direction, Alan Eyre, distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute and former US career diplomat, said there was still "a long road ahead".
He believed any kind of normality could still be months away.
"I'm not breaking open the champagne," Mr Eyre told ABC Radio National.
"Even if they agree to this one-page document, that signals the start of negotiations, not the end of it.
"If Iran tomorrow announces the strait is fully reopened, it will still take months in terms of the global supply chains to get close to where we were before, with about 130 ships going through the Strait of Hormuz each day."
A woman walks past an anti-US billboard depicting Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran. (Reuters/WANA: Majid Asgaripour)
In Lebanon, the health ministry reported at least 12 people were killed, including two children and a paramedic, in a series of Israeli air strikes carried out on Thursday, despite a ceasefire.
In separate statements, the ministry reported 11 people killed, two of them children, in strikes on three different villages in Nabatieh district.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, operating in Lebanon, claimed numerous artillery attacks on Israeli forces.
Direct talks between Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to resume next week in Washington, Associated Press reported, citing a US official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss plans for the closed-door meetings.
The official said talks would be held May 14 and 15.
ABC/Wires
Fri 8 May 2026 at 12:38pm
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