Iran Says Latest Clashes With US In Strait Of Hormuz Have 'Ceased'
Tehran has said armed clashes with US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz have come to an end and that the situation is now calm.
“After a period of mutual fire, the fighting has ceased and the situation is under control,” the Tasnim news agency, which has close ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quoted a military source as saying on May 8.
The report said the latest escalation -- which endangered but did not end the cease-fire now in place -- came after US forces fired on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on May 6.
The two sides dispute the nature of the clashes and accuse the other of firing first.
On May 8, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that two more Iranian-flagged tankers were disabled by US forces in the Gulf of Oman as Washington continued enforcing its blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iran.
Talks are under way through Pakistani mediators on a potential peace deal, With US President Donald Trump expressing optimism even as he threatens Iran with massive air attacks if it rejects the US proposal.
US Slaps Sanctions On People, Firms Accused Of Aiding Iran's Shahed Program
The US Treasury on May 8 said it had imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and companies for aiding efforts by the Iranian military to secure weapons and materials used to build Shahed drones.
Included in the list are entities in China and Hong Kong, with the action coming days before US President Donald Trump's planned trip to China for meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The Iranian-made Shahed drones provided by Tehran to Russia have been used by the Kremlin's forces for attacks in Ukraine, often hitting civilian targets.
The Treasury said it stands ready to take further economic action against Iran's military-industrial base as part of efforts to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its output capacity and projecting its power in the Middle East region.
The Treasury said it would also act against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that aid Tehran's efforts, including those connected to China's independent "teapot" oil refineries.
Trump Says Expects Iranian Response To Peace Proposal In Next Few Hours
US President Donald Trump on May 8 said he expects an answer from Tehran to the latest US peace proposal within the next few hours, as hopes again rise that an agreement to end the nearly 70-day war was possible.
"I'm getting a letter supposedly tonight, so we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters outside the White House on May 8.
Trump and other US officials have often asserted that a deal was close with Iranian leaders to end the war -- which began with US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28 -- only to have talks end without a breakthrough.
On May 7, Trump said a deal was "very possible," but he also warned Tehran of the resumption of massive air strikes if it did not accept the US proposal.
Leaders in Tehran have said they are studying the latest US plan, reportedly a one-page memorandum that would call for an end to the fighting and the opening of the crucial Strait of Hormuz but leave many key issues -- including Iran’s right to enrich uranium -- until later.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Washington was awaiting Iran’s response to a US proposal aimed at ending the conflict.
"We're expecting a response from them today at some point...I hope it's a serious offer, I really do," Rubio told reporters during a visit to Rome on May 8.
The remarks come after two days of renewed violence in the Middle East, with US forces saying they had disabled two more Iranian-flagged tankers in the Gulf of Oman on May 8 as Washington continued enforcing its blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iran.
In addition, the United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems intercepted two ballistic missiles and three drones launched from Iran, leaving three people moderately injured.
In an X post on May 8, the country's Defense Ministry said that since the start of “blatant Iranian attacks” on the UAE, its forces had intercepted 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and 2,263 drones.
In a potential threat to the current cease-fire, US forces on May 7 said they intercepted and "eliminated inbound threats" and struck unspecified Iranian military sites after Iranian forces launched missiles, drones, and small boats at US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
"US forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as US Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman, May 7," the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
Trump later told ABC News that retaliatory strikes against Iran were just a "love tap" and insisted that, despite the action, the cease-fire announced on April 7 was still "in effect" and that negotiations were ongoing.
The semiofficial Fars News Agency reported that parts of Iran's Bahman Port on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz had been targeted by unknown attackers.
“During an exchange of fire between Iran’s armed forces and the enemy, commercial sections of Bahman Port were targeted,” said Fars, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
In Talks With Vance, Qatari PM Urges All Sides To Focus On Diplomacy
Qatari Prime Minister Muhammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani called for all warring parties to utilize diplomacy and not arms to find an end to the war in the Middle East.
Thani made the remarks following talks with US Vice President JD Vance in Washington, the Qatari Foreign Ministry wrote on X.
During the meeting, the prime minister "stressed the need for all parties to engage with the ongoing mediation efforts, to pave the way for addressing the root causes of the crisis through peaceful means and dialogue, leading to a comprehensive agreement that achieves lasting peace in the region," the ministry said.
Pakistan has acted as official mediator between Tehran and Washington, but media reports have said the Qataris have been operating behind the scenes to drive to resolve the conflict.
US President Donald Trump on May 8 said he expects a response in the next few hours from Tehran to the latest US peace proposal to end the nearly 70-day war.
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.