US intercepts Iranian attacks in Strait of Hormuz as tensions spike over shipping chokehold

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 Thursday as US Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said in a social media post. US forces intercepted "unprovoked Iranian attacks" and responded with self-defence strikes, it said. The U.S. military said no ships were hit. It said it doesn't seek escalation but "remains positioned and ready to protect American forces". Iranian state media said the country's armed forces exchanged fire with "the enemy" on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. It is the largest Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, home to about 1,50,000 people. It also houses a water desalination plant. Iranian state media also reported loud noises and defensive fire in western Tehran. In southern Iran, explosions were heard near Bandar Abbas, semiofficial Iranian news agencies said. The reports from the Fars and Tasnim agencies did not identify the source of the blasts.

Earlier in the day, a shipping data company reported Iran has created a government agency to vet and tax vessels seeking passage through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran said it was reviewing the latest US proposals for ending the war. The Iranian effort to formalise control over the channel raised new concerns about international shipping, with hundreds of commercial ships bottled up in the Persian Gulf and unable to reach the open sea. Still, hope that the two-month conflict could soon be over buoyed international markets. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the Islamic Republic was reviewing messages from Pakistan, which is mediating peace negotiations, but Iran "has not yet reached a conclusion, and no response has been given to the US side", Iranian state TV reported. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed Middle East peace efforts at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV, whose opposition to the Iran war has led to open sparring with President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has sent mixed messages on its strategy to end the war. A tenuous ceasefire and previous declarations that military operations were over have given way to new threats of bombing if Tehran does not accept a deal that allows for resumption of oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict.

Trump also suspended an attempt by the US military to open a safe passage for commercial ships through the strait, saying the pause would allow more time to reach a peace agreement. An official in Saudi Arabia said Thursday that the kingdom and US ally refused to support Trump's effort to reopen the strait by force. The ceasefire between the US and Iran has largely held since April 8. But in-person talks between the two countries hosted by Pakistan last month failed to reach an agreement. The war began February 28, when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke by phone Thursday with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said. "We expect an agreement sooner rather than later," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Thursday. "We hope the parties will reach a peaceful and sustainable solution that will contribute not only to peace in our region but to international peace as well." He declined to give a timeline. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking in televised remarks, said Islamabad remained in "continuous contact with Iran and the United States, day and night, to stop the war and extend the ceasefire".

In other regional developments, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to resume next week in Washington, according to a US official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss plans for the closed-door meetings. The official said talks will be held May 14 and 15. Iran established a new government agency to approve transit and collect tolls from shipping in the strait, shipping data firm Lloyd's List Intelligence said Thursday. The move has raised concerns about eroding the freedom of navigation on which global trade depends. The agency, called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, is "positioning itself as the only valid authority to grant permission to ships transiting the strait", Lloyd's reported in an online briefing. Lloyd's said the authority had emailed it an application form for ships seeking passage. Iran has effectively closed the strait, a vital waterway for the shipment of supplies of oil, gas, fertiliser and other petroleum products, while the US is blockading Iranian ports. The disruptions have sent fuel prices skyrocketing and rattled the global economy. The new Iranian agency formalizes an existing, albeit murky, vetting lane that takes vessels through the strait's northern waters near the Iranian coastline. Iran controls which ships are allowed to pass and, for at least some vessels, imposes a tax on their cargo. Maritime law experts say Iran's demands to vet or tax vessels violate international law. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea calls for countries to permit peaceful passage through their territorial waters. The US and its Gulf allies are pushing for the UN Security Council to support a resolution that condemns Iran's chokehold on the strait and threatens sanctions. A prior resolution calling for reopening the strait was vetoed by Iran allies Russia and China. Top Iranian officials have said Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is playing a key role in overseeing negotiations with the US. But he remains in hiding and has not appeared in public since he was wounded early in the war. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he met recently for more than two hours with Khamenei. In remarks aired Thursday on Iranian state television, Pezeshkian praised the supreme leader's "sincere" behaviour in what he said was a long in-person meeting. Khamenei has only released a series of written statements since being named supreme leader in March. He replaced his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the war's initial strikes.

Trump did not consult with US ally Saudi Arabia before launching the short-lived effort to force open a shipping passage through the strait, according to a Saudi official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. "We told them that we are not part of this and that they can't use our territories and bases for this," the official said Thursday. The official said Saudi Arabia sent a message to Iran that the kingdom would not be involved in US attacks related to Trump's attempt to reopen the strait. Trump suspended the effort, dubbed Project Freedom, during its second day Tuesday. Only two American-flagged merchant ships are known to have passed through the US-guarded route. The US military said it sank six Iranian small boats threatening civilian ships.