Iran war live: Tehran ‘seizes oil tanker’ after launching attacks on UAE – The Independent
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The United States said on Friday it expects to receive an Iranian response to its proposal to end the war as soon as today, even as US and Iranian forces clashed in the Gulf and the UAE came under renewed attack.
“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 said Tehran was still weighing its response.
As hopes of a diplomatic resolution to the crisis were again revived, US vice president JD Vance met with the prime minister of Qatar to discuss the negotiations with Iran, according to Axios. A US official said that the Qataris were working behind the scenes towards ending the war.
Sporadic clashes between Iranian armed forces and US vessels were still taking place in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, 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 with F/A-18 Super Hornet jets from USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier.
The United Arab Emirates confirmed on Friday that it intercepted two ballistic missiles and a trio of drones launched by Iran, but noted that three people were injured by the debris caused by the interceptions.
The nation’s Ministry of Defense said during the announcement that since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, it has had to intercept a total of 551 Iranian ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles, and another 2,263 drones.
There’s one good reason why America would even suggest a 14-point plan to end hostilities that ignores several of its red lines – not least over nuclear enrichment – and that is next week’s summit with Xi Jinping, says Mary Dejevsky:
On Friday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that there had been “reports of a limited exchange of fire with U.S. forces around the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Sounds of gunfire have reportedly been heard in areas near the Strait for approximately the past two hours,” the report said.
The report came just hours after U.S. forces intercepted a pair of Iranian-flagged oil tankers attempting to run the blockade, according to U.S. CentComm.
Despite the fighting, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said Tehran and Washington were still observing a “nominal ceasefire situation.”
Even as Donald Trump insists a deal to end the conflict is within reach, analysts warn the consequences could push the world towards a global recession if disruption to the flow of oil continues in the Strait of Hormuz.
But as consumers bear the brunt of higher energy costs and rising inflation caused by the war, a handful of outliers are celebrating record profits from surging oil prices, renewed defence spending and frenzied trading patterns.
The Independent reviews some of the main beneficiaries of the conflict in the Middle East.
JD Vance is now in a meeting with the prime minister of Qatar to discuss the negotiations with Iran, Axios reported on Friday.
The US military struck two empty Iranian-flagged oil tankers trying to enter an Iranian port on Friday, US Centcom reported.
Central Command said in a statement that the military enforced its blockade against the tankers as they tried to pull into a port in the Gulf of Oman.
A US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet from the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier disabled both with precision munitions, it said.
Separately, it said US forces had disabled the Iranian-flagged M/T Hasna on Wednesday as it tried to sail to an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman.
An F/A-18 from the USS Abraham Lincoln disabled the tanker’s rudder with its 20mm cannon.
“All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran,” Central Command said.
The US military carried out more airstrikes on Friday and hit several empty tankers attempting to break the blockade on Iran, a Fox News reporter said on X.
Iran’s Mehr news agency meanwhile reported explosions heard in Iran’s Sirik, near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran is still weighing its answers to the latest US proposals, according to the country’s foreign ministry.
Iran is able to withstand the effects of the US blockade for three to four more months and retains significant missile stockpiles, according to US intelligence, casting doubt on Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran needs the war to end imminently.
New analysis by the CIA suggests that the Islamic Republic may be more resilient than expected and could withstand the economic pain of the blockade until later this year.
The confidential report was delivered to officials in the Trump administration earlier this week, four people familiar with the document told The Washington Post.
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