Iran and US exchange fire in Hormuz, threatening fragile truce

TEHRAN — Iranian military fired missiles at three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday night after what it described as an attack on an Iranian tanker, Iranian media reported.The violence threatened to unravel a fragile truce in effect since April 8 that brought an end to weeks of US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic republic, which has retaliated with strikes across the Middle East and by blocking the strait, a vital route for oil and gas shipments.US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was still in place despite an Iranian attack, which he dismissed as “a trifle.””Following the attack by the US military on an Iranian tanker, the enemy units in the Strait of Hormuz came under Iranian missile fire and were forced to flee after suffering damage,” state-run broadcaster IRIB reported, citing an unnamed military officer.Explosions were initially reported on Qeshm Island and the city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, both near the Strait of Hormuz.The IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency said Tehran’s units exchanged fire with the enemy attacking the Bahman pier on Qeshm.Mizan agency said the explosions heard on the island were the result of air defenses intercepting what Iranian media described as “hostile” drones.According to Iranian media, two drones were shot down above Bandar Abbas. Air defenses were also activated above Tehran to “counter hostile targets,” according to reports.Qeshm is the largest Iranian island in the Arabian Gulf, home to about 150,000 people and housing a water desalination plant.The US military said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets in response to the missile attacks, although Tehran charged that it was Washington that had initiated the exchange of fire.Asked in Washington if the Iran ceasefire was still on, President Trump said: “Yeah it is. They trifled with us today. We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle.”US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that Iranian forces launched “multiple missiles, drones and small boats” at the three US warships, but none were hit, and that it “eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible.”“CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces,” it said.For its part, Iran’s central military command accused the US of violating the ceasefire by attacking an oil tanker and another ship, saying Tehran’s forces “immediately and in retaliation attacked American military vessels.”On Monday, US President Trump announced a naval operation to escort the trapped ships and force the Hormuz to open, but called off the push shortly after.Washington is now awaiting an Iranian response to proposals to end the war and reopen the strait.Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran would communicate its position to mediator Pakistan “after finalizing its views.”Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had struck an optimistic tone prior to the exchanges of fire on Thursday, saying in televised remarks: “I firmly believe that this ceasefire will turn into a long-term ceasefire.”