Flare-ups in fighting continue as U.S. expects response from Iran on proposal to end hostilities

The United States said it expected a response from Iran to its latest proposal to end their war, even as American and Iranian ‌forces clashed again on Friday.

Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the contested Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, despite the U.S. and Iran indicating they were closer than ever to a deal to end the war.

“We should know something today,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Rome. “We’re expecting a response from them…. The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson ​said Tehran was still weighing its response. The U.S. proposal would formally end the war first, before talks to resolve the most contentious issues such as ⁠the fate of Iran’s nuclear program.

Sporadic clashes between Iranian armed forces and U.S. vessels were taking place in ​the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The U.S. military said it had struck two more Iran-linked vessels that were trying to enter an Iranian port. A U.S. fighter jet had hit the vessels’ smokestacks and prevented them from entering Iran.

Trump warns of ‘big glow’ over Iran

The confrontation ​Friday was not confined to the waterway. The United Arab Emirates said its air defences engaged with two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, resulting in three moderate injuries.

During the war, Iran has repeatedly targeted the U.A.E. and other Gulf states that host U.S. military bases.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday a ceasefire was still holding despite ​the flare-ups.

On Thursday, the U.S. military said it had intercepted Iranian attacks on three navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz late Thursday and “targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces.”

Iran accused the United States of breaching the ceasefire, which had largely held since it was announced on April 7 but has come under far ⁠greater strain this week since Trump announced — and then paused — a new naval mission to force open the strait.

“Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday.

Iran’s top joint military command said U.S. forces had targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and carried out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby ‌coastal areas. Iranian forces responded by attacking U.S. military vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar.

A spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the Iranian strikes inflicted “significant damage,” but U.S. Central Command said none of its assets was hit.

“They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Trump said in Washington.

“If there’s no ceasefire, you’re just going to have to look at one big glow coming out of Iran,” he added. The U.S. president last month warned Iran that “a whole civilization will die” if it didn’t meet a self-imposed deadline to open the strait, comments that drew widespread condemnation.