American and Iranian forces exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday in the most serious confrontation since their ceasefire took effect on 7 April, sending oil prices sharply higher and raising fresh doubts about the durability of the month-old truce. Despite the clashes, US President Donald Trump insisted the ceasefire remained in effect, while Iran's state media reported that conditions along the strait had returned to normal by the end of the day.
The two sides offered sharply conflicting accounts of who fired first. Iran's military headquarters accused the United States of violating the ceasefire by striking an Iranian oil tanker and a second vessel in the waterway, then carrying out air attacks on civilian areas including Qeshm Island — the largest Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, with a population of around 150,000 — as well as the coastal settlements of Bandar Khamir and Sirik on the Iranian mainland. Iran said its forces responded by attacking US Navy vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar. US Central Command told a different story, saying three Navy guided-missile destroyers — the USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta and USS Mason — came under unprovoked Iranian attack by missiles, drones and small boats while transiting the strait toward the Gulf of Oman, and that American forces struck Iranian missile sites, drone launch positions and command-and-control facilities in self-defence. CENTCOM said none of its ships sustained damage, contradicting Iranian claims of "significant" losses inflicted on US vessels.
Trump moved quickly to downplay the incident while simultaneously issuing a sharp warning to Tehran. "They trifled with us today. We blew them away," he told reporters in Washington. On social media he threatened that the US would strike Iran "a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future" unless Iran signed a peace agreement quickly. He also said Iran had already acknowledged his demand that it never acquire a nuclear weapon, and suggested a deal could come "any day" — though he acknowledged it might not happen at all. The exchange came just one day after Trump had raised hopes of an imminent agreement, and one day after Iran's foreign ministry said it was still reviewing US proposals transmitted via Pakistan, which is mediating the negotiations, without having yet sent a response.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, is the world's most critical oil chokepoint, carrying roughly one-fifth of global oil and natural gas supplies under normal conditions. Shipping through the strait has been at near-standstill since late February amid the threat of Iranian attacks on tankers. Brent crude futures surged as much as 7.5 percent on Thursday, briefly topping $103 per barrel, before easing as Asian markets opened Friday. Asian equity indices — including Japan's Nikkei 225, South Korea's KOSPI and Hong Kong's Hang Seng — each fell more than one percent. Oil prices are now roughly 40 percent above pre-war levels, amid an estimated daily shortfall of 14.5 million barrels. Complicating matters further, shipping data firm Lloyd's List Intelligence reported that Iran has established a new government body, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which is positioning itself as the sole authority to approve transit and collect tolls from commercial vessels — a move maritime law experts say violates international law.
Despite the violence, diplomatic activity continued in parallel. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad was in continuous contact with both sides "day and night" to extend the ceasefire, and Islamabad's foreign minister spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart. In Rome, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV to discuss Middle East peace efforts. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, was reported to have declined to support a US effort to reopen the strait by force. Both Washington and Tehran indicated they did not want escalation, but with Iran yet to respond formally to the latest US peace proposal and exchanges of fire now recurring, the ceasefire's survival remains in question.