Fresh hostilities erupted between the United States (US) and Iran on Thursday as both sides exchanged fire near the Strait of Hormuz, marking the most serious confrontation since the ceasefire announced last month, while US President Donald Trump insisted that truce remained intact.
The fighting broke out as Washington DC awaited Tehran’s response to a US proposal aimed at formally ending the conflict, though the plan reportedly leaves unresolved key disputes including Iran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s military accused the US of targeting two ships entering the strait and carrying out strikes inside Iranian territory, including attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island and nearby mainland coastal regions of Bandar Khamir and Sirik.
In response, Iran said that it launched attacks on US military vessels east of the Strait of Hormuz and south of the port of Chabahar.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters claimed that the retaliatory strikes caused “significant damage”, though the US Central Command denied any American assets were hit.
According to Centcom, Iran used missiles, drones and small boats in an attack targeting three US Navy destroyers.
The US military said that it responded by striking missile and drone launch sites along with other military positions.
“Centcom does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces,” it said in a statement.
Trump later downplayed the exchange, saying the ceasefire was still holding despite the clashes. “They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Trump told reporters.
In a separate statement posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed Iranian forces suffered heavy losses during the confrontation.
“Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire,” he wrote. “There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers”.
Trump said Iranian missiles were intercepted while drones were “incinerated while in the air”. He also claimed several Iranian small boats were destroyed.
The US president also issued a warning to Tehran, saying Washington DC will respond with greater force if a deal was not reached.
“They’ll never have that opportunity and, just like we knocked them out again today, 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, meanwhile, warned that any future attack would trigger another response.
“US and its allies must know that Iran will respond forcefully and without the slightest hesitation to any act of aggression or attack,” an Iranian military spokesperson said, according to Iran’s state television.
Iran’s Press TV later reported that after several hours of exchanges, “the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities by the Strait of Hormuz is back to normal now”.
The two countries have exchanged intermittent fire since the ceasefire took effect on April 7.
Despite Thursday’s confrontation, Trump said negotiations with Tehran were continuing. “We’re negotiating with the Iranians,” he told reporters.
The proposed US framework reportedly seeks a formal end to the conflict but does not address Washington’s longstanding demand for Iran to halt its nuclear activities.
Trump claimed Iran had accepted that it would not obtain nuclear weapons. “There’s zero chance. And they know that, and they’ve agreed to that. Let’s see if they are willing to sign it,” he said.
