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US fires on Iranian-flagged oil tankers it claims were trying to violate US blockade
The US Central Command (Centcom) claims it has struck two “unladen” Iranian-flagged oil tankers it said were attempting to violate the US blockade by entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.
“U.S. forces disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing U.S. blockade,” it said in a statement on social media.
Centcom claimed it had “disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks”. The statement added that US forces had also disabled a third Iranian-flagged vessel on Wednesday. “All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran.”
On Thursday Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships at the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas. The US insisted it struck in retaliation.
Key events
The Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, has arrived in Washington for meetings with US officials.
The US vice president, JD Vance, is meeting the Qatari prime minister this morning to discuss the negotiations with Iran, according to US outlet Axios. The Qataris are acting as a vital back channel between the US, an American official told Axios.
The US president, Donald Trump, is expected to deliver remarks outside of the White House shortly. Stick with us as we will be providing any relevant Iran news.
Iran warns against ‘adventurism and roguish behaviour’ after US strikes oil tankers
In a post on X, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei warned against “adventurism and roguish behaviour” following reported US military attacks on Iranian vessels in the strait of Hormuz.
He said: “scheming and naive euphemisms such as ‘a light slap’ can do nothing to erase the profound disgrace born of narcissism, greed, reckless miscalculation, and lawless irresponsibility.”
“The consequences of this whimsical adventurism and roguish behaviour have now become clear to the entire world. Disjointed, delusional tweets no longer hold any sway over reality—though, as ever, “the deeper they sink into folly, the more inventive they become in justifying it.”
His comments came as the the US military also said it fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers earlier today apparently trying to bypass the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports (see post at 15.59 for more details). Despite these attacks, the US expects a response today from Tehran on a proposal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Lorenzo Tondo
Italy, alongside Spain, is the European country that has seen some of the largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protests against Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
Last year, more than 2 million people took part in protests across 84 cities, with a general strike declared against the killing of civilians in Gaza. According to a recent YouTrend poll, nearly 60% of Italians disapprove of Israel’s actions in the Middle East.
The backlash between the two countries comes at a time of increasing unease among the Italian public about the broader implications of the conflict, particularly fears of economic fallout. Meloni, because of her closeness to Trump, is increasingly seen by some as complicit in this sense of looming instability.
Lorenzo Tondo
US secretary of state Marco Rubio met with Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, on Friday as both sides seek to ease tensions after Donald Trump accused Italy of “lacking courage” for refusing to join attacks on Iran and threatened to withdraw US troops from the country.
The meeting, although cordial, does not appear to have eased the tensions between the two countries, which seem to have remained firmly entrenched in their respective positions.
Questioned why allies including Italy were not backing Washington’s efforts to confront Iran and re-open the Strait of Hormuz Rubio told reporters: ‘‘I don’t understand why anybody would not be supportive,” adding that countries needed “something more than just strongly worded statements” if they opposed Iran’s actions.’’
‘‘It was a frank dialogue between allies who defend their respective national interests while fully understanding how precious the unity of the West remains,’’ Meloni said at the end of the talks with the US secretary of state.
The Italian PM, whose political alliance and personal rapport with Trump had long been openly embraced – with the Italian leader saying earlier this year that she hoped he would one day receive the Nobel peace prize – has openly criticised the US president over the war with Iran, describing the US-Israeli strikes as “outside international law”.
Moreover, in Italy – a country long seen as a symbol of Catholicism – Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo, whom he accused of supporting nuclear weapons and described as “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy”, have enraged Italian public opinion and forced Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to distance itself from Washington.
“I find President Trump’s remarks about the Holy Father unacceptable,” Meloni said in a statement. “She is the one who is unacceptable,” Trump snapped, “because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon.”
US fires on Iranian-flagged oil tankers it claims were trying to violate US blockade
The US Central Command (Centcom) claims it has struck two “unladen” Iranian-flagged oil tankers it said were attempting to violate the US blockade by entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.
“U.S. forces disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing U.S. blockade,” it said in a statement on social media.
Centcom claimed it had “disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks”. The statement added that US forces had also disabled a third Iranian-flagged vessel on Wednesday. “All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran.”
On Thursday Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships at the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas. The US insisted it struck in retaliation.
The internet blackout in Iran has entered its 70th day, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks, as the regime continues one of the longest-running national internet shutdowns ever recorded. NetBlocks said in a social media post:
Today marks the 70th day of Iran’s internet blackout, with the incident now surpassing 1656 hours. Digital connectivity is vital in times of crisis, and limiting service harms those most in need – people with disabilities, students, small businesses and the general public.
Senior government officials are awarded “white” SIM cards granting them access to the global internet while the vast majority of the population remains completely cut off.
Under pressure to alleviate the economic harm the shutdown is causing, the government has been allowing less-restricted internet access to a small number of professions, businesses and regime-friendly journalists.
There was an earlier internet shutdown in January during nationwide protests, which helped obscure extreme violence against Iran’s population.
Lebanon’s national news agency is reporting that Israeli warplanes launched a series of raids targeting southern Lebanese towns and villages this afternoon. At least five people were killed in the attacks, according to the report.
The Israeli military, which is continuing to issue forced evacuation orders in southern Lebanon, said earlier that Hezbollah had launched rockets and mortar bombs toward its forces in southern Lebanon. No casualties were immediately reported.
The renewed Israeli war on Lebanon started when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel on 2 March after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran in late February.
In its latest update, the Lebanese health ministry said since 2 March Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,727 people in Lebanon, including many women and children.
Israel has also established a “yellow line” in southern Lebanon where Israeli troops are active, comprising at least 55 villages. They have continued to demolish homes there -and the establishment of what is framed as a security zone has stoked fears of a long-term occupation.
The US Central Command claimed its forces were blocking 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
“These commercial ships have the capacity to transport over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth an estimated $13 billion-plus,” it said in a post on X.
The US navy has blockaded Iran’s ports since 13 April, choking off crucial revenues for the country that relies almost entirely on the strait of Hormuz to export its oil.
Here are some of the latest images on the newswires from across the Middle East:
Summary of developments so far
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US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Washington was expecting a response from Iran today to its proposal to end the war. “We’ll see what the response entails,” he said. “The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation.”
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Washington and Tehran are negotiating a US proposal for both sides to reach an agreement to reopen the strait of Hormuz and cease hostilities for 30 days as they work on a more lasting deal, according to the New York Times, citing sources.
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The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has accused the US of undermining diplomatic efforts to end the war, saying Washington was instead opting for “reckless military adventure”. In his first comments after the US and Iran traded attacks over the strait of Hormuz, he said: “Iranians never bow to pressure and diplomacy is always the victim.”
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The US said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets after an attack on three American destroyers in the strait of Hormuz yesterday, while Tehran accused Washington of striking first. The exchange of fire threatens to unravel a fragile ceasefire in effect since 8 April.
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Despite the tit-for-tat attacks, Donald Trump insisted the truce remains intact. “The ceasefire is going. It’s in effect,” the US president said yesterday, describing the strikes as “just a love tap”.
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The UAE defence ministry said its air defence systems intercepted missiles and drone attacks from Iran. So far today, it downed two ballistic missiles and three drones, the ministry reported.
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Iranian state media blamed the UAE for reported strikes in southern Iran yesterday. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing sources, reported that there were signs of UAE involvement in attacks on Qeshm, an Iranian island in the strait of Hormuz.
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In Lebanon, where another nominal ceasefire continues to be challenged, Israel has launched attacks across the south as fighting intensified with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. The Lebanese health ministry and national news agency have reported at least five people were killed today in Israeli strikes, including a rescue worker with the civil defence.
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Direct talks between Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to resume next week in Washington, the Associated Press reported, citing a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans for the closed-door meetings. The official said talks will be held 14 and 15 May.
Rubio says Iran asserts it has the right to control an “international waterway”, referring to the strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed in response to the US and Israeli attacks on Tehran in late February.
The US, hit hard by rising gas prices and fertiliser costs, has been pressuring Iran to reopen the strait, enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Rubio was asked if he has had conversations with the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, or Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, about helping the US unblock the strait by providing “escorts” to help commercial ships be guided safely through.
So far, Italy and other European countries have been resistant, not wanting to get dragged into the US war, even though their economies have also suffered as energy prices have surged. Rubio refused to be drawn on specific conversations he has had. But said:
Everybody says Iran is a threat. Everybody says that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. Okay. But you have to do something about it. The president is trying to do something about it. I don’t understand why anybody would not be supportive of that.
But here is a more fundamental problem. Iran now claims that they have a right to control an international waterway. They claim that they have a right to control it. What is the world going to do about that? Is the world going to accept that Iran now controls an international waterway.
Because if the world is prepared to accept that, then be ready because there are like ten other countries that are going to start doing the same thing in international waterways near their countries. That is an unacceptable thing they are trying to normalise.
Asked by a reporter if the US has communicated any “red lines” to Iran in their proposal, Marco Rubio replied: “Well the red line is clear, if they threaten Americans they are going to get blown up. How much clearer can you be than that?”
“We are not going to let our ships get sunk by the Iranians with their drones that they are firing,” the secretary of state said.
“They don’t have a Navy anymore but they bring out these little Boston whaler fishing boats and they try to swarm you. We are going to blow those boats up if they are coming towards our boats. I don’t know if that is a red line but I hope they know it is by now.”
The US is now framing any attacks it launches as purely defensive ones that do not constitute a resumption of major combat operations against Iran.
As my colleague notes in this story, the Trump administration is facing increasing pressure over how it frames the US-Israeli war on Iran to Congress because of the war powers resolution, a law that typically requires presidents to seek formal approval from Congress for war activities 60 days after beginning military action.
On the eve of the 60 day war powers deadline expiring last week, a senior official of the Trump administration said the US had “terminated” hostilities with Iran since the shaky 8 April ceasefire.
Rubio says US should get Iran response on Friday
Marco Rubio also told reporters in Rome that the US should get a response on Friday from Iran to its proposal to end the war.
“We’ll see what the response entails. The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation,” Rubio said.
Axios has been reporting that the US believes it could be getting closer to reaching a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran, which could set the basis for more detailed nuclear negotiations at a later date.
US and Iran exchanged fire late on Thursday in the most serious test yet of their month-long ceasefire, raising questions about the likelihood of a lasting agreement being secured.
Hezbollah started firing at Israel shortly after the US and Israel launched its war on Iran by killing the country’s former supreme leader. Israel responded with airstrikes and launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
Despite a US brokered ceasefire agreement, Israel and Hezbollah have continued with their attacks, accusing each other of violations.
Israel has been accused of violating the ceasefire agreement many times, with strikes killing civilians and homes continuing to be demolished despite the military saying it is only targeting Hezbollah sites.
Under the agreement’s terms, Israel was effectively given permission to continue its assault on Lebanon as it retained a “right to take all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks”.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has been speaking to the press after meeting with the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni. He said the reasons why Lebanon “faces violence” is because of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
He said the US wants to empower and “equip” the Lebanese government to confront the “threat” of Hezbollah. He said Italy is among the countries that can play a role in helping “equip” the government and cutting off the financing that supports Hezbollah.
Rubio said Hezbollah is still capable of” “inflicting damage” even though it has been “weakened”. “We are not going to negotiate with Iran over Hezbollah.” “I think our role is with the Lebanese government,” he said.
“Lebanon should be governed by the Lebanese government. It should not have a terrorist group operating within its national territory that poses a threat both to its own people – including the Shia population – and to the government and to Israel and to its other neighbours.”
Israeli and US strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites have set back Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, potentially extending the timeline to build one by nine months to two years, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.
In a report published this week, the Washington-based thinktank said it identified at least six nuclear sites that were attacked since the war began on 28 February, including uranium enrichment facilities.
It said before US-Israeli strikes on Iran’s key nuclear sites in June 2025, Tehran could have built a non-missile deliverable nuclear weapon with almost 100% certainty in less than six months.
Describing the situation now, it said:
It [Iran] will face a much more difficult struggle towards success if it tries in the coming months, and the probability of succeeding, whether it be in nine months, one year, or two years, is now much less technically certain, and significantly less than 100 percent.
Today is the Palestine Marathon, which has returned after a two-year hiatus due to war.
Hundreds of runners set off from the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, the starting point of the race, with a parallel 5km run taking place in the Gaza Strip.
Here are some images from both of those events:
Iran’s foreign minister: ‘Iranians never bow to pressure’
The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has issued a statement on social media accusing the US of “reckless military adventure” amid diplomatic efforts to end the war.
It is the first comments by the minister after the US and Iran traded attacks over the strait of Hormuz, with both sides blaming each other for breaking the month-old truce.
In his statement, Araghchi said:
Every time a diplomatic solution is on the able, the US opts for a reckless military adventure. Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping [Donald Trump] into another quagmire?
Whatever the causes, the outcome is the same: Iranians never bow to pressure and diplomacy is always the victim.
Also, the CIA is wrong. Our missile inventory and launcher capacity are not at 75% compared to Feb 28 The correct figure is 120%.
As for our readiness to defence our people: 1,000%
He was referring to a report by the Washington Post, citing US intelligence, that Iran retains about 75% of its prewar inventories of mobile launchers and about 70% of its stockpiles of missiles.
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