A state of relative calm prevailed around the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, after days of sporadic flare-ups, as the United States waited for Iran’s response to its latest proposals to end more than two months of fighting and begin peace talks.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington expected a response within hours. But a day later, there was no sign of movement from Tehran on the proposal, which would formally end the war before talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.
With US president Donald Trump due to begin a visit to China next week, there has been mounting pressure to draw a line under the war, which has thrown energy markets into turmoil and posed a growing threat to the world economy.
Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the strait since a ceasefire began a month ago, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came under renewed attack on Friday.
RM Block
Tehran has largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the strait since the war began with US-Israeli air strikes across Iran on February 28th. Before the war, one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through the narrow waterway.
On Friday, there were sporadic clashes between Iranian forces and US vessels in the strait, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported. The Tasnim news agency later cited an Iranian military source saying the situation had calmed but warning more clashes were possible.
Clashes extended beyond the waterway. The UAE said its air defences engaged with two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, with three people sustaining moderate injuries.
Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host U.S. military bases. In what the UAE called a major escalation, Iran stepped up attacks this week in response to Trump’s announcement of “Project Freedom” to escort ships in the strait, which he paused after 48 hours.
Trump said on Thursday the ceasefire, announced on April 7th, was holding despite the flare-ups, while Iran accused the US of breaching it.
“Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the US opts for a reckless military adventure,” foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday.
The US has found little international support in the conflict.
Speaking in Stockholm, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said European countries shared the aim of stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons and said they were working to bridge differences with Washington.
Britain, which has been working with France on a proposal to ensure safe transit through the strait once the situation stabilises, said on Saturday it was deploying a warship to the Middle East in preparation for such a multinational mission.
While pursuing diplomacy, the US also ratcheted up sanctions to pressure Iran.
Elsewhere in the region on Saturday, three Israeli drone strikes on vehicles just south of Beirut killed four people while a series of air strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 13, including a man and his 12-year-old daughter, state media and the Lebanese health ministry said.
The three drone strikes south of Beirut marked another escalation since a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah went into effect on April 17th. Both Israel and Hizbullah have continued their daily attacks despite the truce.
On Wednesday night, Israel’s air force carried out an air strike on a southern suburb in which Israel said it killed a senior Hizbullah military official. It was the first strike near the capital since the ceasefire was reached.
Two of the strikes on Saturday took place on the highway linking Beirut with the southern port city of Sidon in which several people were wounded, while the third happened on a road leading to Lebanon’s Chouf region killing three, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said.
The ministry said an Israeli air strike on the southern village of Saksakiyeh killed at least seven, including a child, and wounded 15. The ministry said this was an initial count.
The agency reported strikes in southern Lebanon, including one on the village of Bourj Rahhal that killed three and another in Maifadoun that killed one.
The ministry, meanwhile, said three Israeli drone strikes killed a Syrian man who was riding a motorcycle with his 12-year-old daughter in the city of Nabatiyeh.
The ministry said that after the initial strike, the man and his daughter managed to move away from the site only to be attacked again by the drone instantly killing the man.
The girl then moved about 100m away and was hit again by the drone after she had been already wounded. She later died in a hospital, NNA said. – Reuters/AP
