US and Iran trade fire, threatening fragile truce

WASHINGTON

The U.S. 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 U.S.-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 Friday that its air defences were "engaging missile and drone attacks originating from Iran".

Asked in Washington Thursday 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."

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that Iranian forces launched "multiple missiles, drones and small boats" at the three U.S. 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."

Trump this week fueled hopes of a deal, saying an agreement could be near even as he again threatened to return to bombing if Tehran refused to back down.

He doubled down on that stance after Thursday's clash, posting 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.

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

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

Lebanon talks

But, inside Iran, civilians were cynical.

"Neither side in these negotiations is really capable of reaching an agreement," 42-year-old photographer Shervin told AFP reporters in Paris, messaging from Tehran.

"This is another one of Trump's games; otherwise, why are so many warships and military forces being sent toward Iran?"

Any agreement between the United States and Iran could also help lower tensions in Lebanon, where a separate truce was under renewed strain after an Israeli strike on southern Beirut killed a commander from militant group Hezbollah on Wednesday.

A U.S. State Department official confirmed on Thursday 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.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday 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.

Ships, crew stranded

A ceasefire between the two countries, and including Hezbollah, was extended after the last round of talks in Washington, but Israel has kept up its strikes on the group, which has claimed attacks of its own on Israeli forces occupying parts of Lebanon's south.

Lebanon's health ministry reported at least 12 people killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes on Thursday.

Following the start of the war with U.S.-Israeli attacks on February 28, Iran largely shuttered the Strait of Hormuz.

Around 1,500 ships and 20,000 international crew are now trapped in the Gulf region because of the conflict, the secretary-general of the UN's International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, told a Maritime Convention of the Americas meeting in Panama.

Trump had this week briefly launched a naval operation to force open the strait to commercial vessels, only to stand it down within hours, citing progress on negotiations with Iran.

The U.S. president — who has lambasted Europe for not backing his war against Iran — said Thursday he had a "great call" with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, saying they were "completely united that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon."