Iran’s foreign minister has accused the United States of pursuing a “reckless military adventure” as tensions escalate in the Gulf, even as both sides say a ceasefire intended to enable peace talks remains in place.
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Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said Washington repeatedly resorts to force whenever diplomatic options emerge. Writing on the social media platform X, he said Iranians would “never bow to pressure”.
Araghchi’s remarks came a day after the United States and Iran blamed each other for new clashes in the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange followed further U.S. military action against Iranian vessels and continued friction despite the ceasefire announced earlier in the conflict.
“Is it a crude pressure tactic?” Araghchi wrote. “Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire?”
Ceasefire Amid Continuing Tensions
Despite the latest confrontations, Donald Trump said the ceasefire remained intact. The truce is intended to create space for negotiations aimed at ending the war launched in February by the United States and Israel.
Washington says it is waiting for Tehran’s response to a set of proposals designed to resolve the conflict.
Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, said Iran was expected to respond on Friday.
“I hope it’s a serious offer, I really do,” Rubio said while visiting Italy.
Iran has taken control of the Strait of Hormuz and launched attacks on U.S. allies in the Gulf in retaliation for American and Israeli military strikes earlier in the war.
The narrow waterway is one of the world’s most critical shipping routes. Around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through the strait, and disruptions there have pushed energy prices sharply higher.
Naval Blockade and Ship Incidents
Earlier this week, Trump authorised a U.S. military operation aimed at freeing roughly 2,000 vessels that have been stranded in the area since February. The operation was later paused.
At the same time, the United States has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports in an effort to pressure Tehran to accept U.S. negotiating terms. Iranian officials have condemned the blockade, describing it as an act of aggression.
On Friday, U.S. Central Command said American forces had disabled two Iranian-flagged oil tankers attempting to enter an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman in violation of the blockade.
According to the command, the vessels were not carrying cargo. U.S. forces fired precision munitions into their smokestacks, preventing them from docking.
The military said it was also stopping more than 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports as part of the blockade effort.
Clashes in the Strait of Hormuz
The latest incidents followed Thursday’s confrontations in the Strait of Hormuz, with each side accusing the other of initiating the attacks.
U.S. Central Command said Iran launched missiles, drones and small boats at three American warships in what it described as an “unprovoked attack”.
Iran’s senior military leadership gave a different account, claiming U.S. forces targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another vessel approaching the strait and carried out aerial strikes against several coastal areas.
One cargo vessel attacked near the waters off Minab caught fire, according to Mohammad Radmehr, an official in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province.
Radmehr said ten injured sailors had been taken to hospital while local rescue teams searched for others who were aboard the vessel.
Late on Thursday, Trump said on the social media platform Truth Social that U.S. forces had destroyed several Iranian small boats, missiles and drones.
He warned that further strikes could follow if Iran failed to quickly agree to the proposed deal to end the conflict.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 9 May 2026
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