DUBAI, May 8:
US forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers on Friday after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, reported another Iranian missile and drone attack.
The attacks cast more doubt on a tenuous month-old ceasefire that the United States has insisted is still in effect.
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Washington is awaiting an Iranian response to its latest proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the strait and roll back Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes to receive “a serious offer” from Iran later Friday.
The US military said Friday that its forces had disabled two Iranian tankers that were trying to breach an American blockade of Iran’s ports.
Hours earlier, the military said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships and struck Iranian military facilities in the strait.
Iran has mostly blocked the critical waterway for global energy since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, causing a global spike in fuel prices and rattling world markets. The US has imposed its own blockade of Iran’s ports.
The UAE’s Defence Ministry meanwhile said three people were wounded after air defences engaged two ballistic missiles and three drones launched by Iran. It was not clear if all were successfully intercepted.
Earlier in the week, an American military jet shot out the rudder of a tanker the US military said was attempting to breach its blockade.
Late Thursday, the US military said it thwarted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and struck Iranian military facilities in response. It said no American ships were hit. (AP)
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