Dubai: American forces targeted and incapacitated two Iranian oil tankers on Friday following overnight clashes with Iranian troops in the Strait of Hormuz even as the United Arab Emirates disclosed a fresh Iranian missile and drone barrage, AP reported.
The strikes deepen skepticism about the fragile ceasefire now a month old, which the United States continues to uphold as intact. Washington awaits Iran’s reaction to its recent offer to conclude the war, restore strait navigation, and constrain Tehran’s controversial nuclear efforts.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expects “a serious offer” from Iran later on Friday.
Tankers Disabled, Navy Ships Targeted
The US military announced on Friday that its units neutralized two Iranian tankers seeking to pierce the American blockade of Iranian ports. Hours before, it reported repelling strikes on three Navy ships while hitting Iranian military positions in the strait.
Tehran has effectively shut the crucial global energy passage since the US-Israel war opening on Feb. 28, driving up fuel costs worldwide and unsettling markets. The US responded with its own blockade of Iran’s ports.
Meanwhile, the UAE Defense Ministry reported three injuries from air defenses while countering two Iranian ballistic missiles and three drones on Friday. It remains uncertain whether every incoming threat was downed.
Video Clips Of Jet Strikes
The US military shared video on Friday depicting a fighter jet hammering the smokestacks of the two Iranian tankers. Earlier in the week, a US aircraft crippled the rudder of another tanker accused of probing the blockade.
Late on Thursday, US forces said they defeated Iranian assaults on three Navy ships in the strait and retaliated against Iranian sites. No American vessels sustained damage.
“They threaten Americans, they are going to be blown up,” Rubio told reporters on Friday.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry slammed the US operations as “hostile” breaches of the truce. “Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the US opts for a reckless military adventure,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X.
An Iranian judiciary-linked news agency said a US overnight attack killed one sailor and injured 10 others on a cargo ship that caught fire. It’s unclear if this vessel was among the two tankers acknowledged by the US.
Trump Defends Truce
US President Donald Trump has steadfastly claimed the ceasefire persists. He repeated threats to unleash full bombing campaigns unless Iran accepts terms to free the strait and restrict its nuclear program.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his government has worked “day and night” with the US and Iran to extend the pause and forge a durable accord.
Oil Spill Spreads
Satellite images reviewed by AP show an oil slick leaking from Iran’s primary Kharg Island crude terminal into the Persian Gulf.
Windward AI CEO Ami Daniel said on Friday photos reveal the spill spanning 71 square kilometers, with leakage ongoing. He calculates roughly 80,000 barrels spilled since Tuesday’s initial sighting.
“This is the risk of fighting in an oil-rich area,” Daniel said, warning cleanup efforts unlikely amid active combat. The slick could wash toward UAE, Qatar, or Saudi coasts next week.
Greenpeace Germany’s Nina Noelle said recent imagery indicates offshore dispersal, sparing land but possibly endangering sea life. “More likely, it will dissipate offshore under prevailing conditions,” Noelle said.
The Pentagon offered no word on monitoring the spill or recent Kharg strikes. Earlier images place the leak before the newest US actions.
Rubio Slams Strait Control
Rubio called it “unacceptable” for an Iranian agency to screen and levy fees on strait transit.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported Thursday that Iran established the Persian Gulf Strait Authority for that role.
The development heightens shipping fears, stranding hundreds of commercial ships in the Gulf. “Is the world going to accept that Iran now controls an international waterway?” Rubio asked. “What is the world prepared to do about it?”
Iran has choked oil, gas, fertilizer, and petroleum product flows, matched by the US port blockade.
China’s Foreign Ministry raised alarm over a struck Marshall Islands-flagged tanker with Chinese crew near the strait. No fatalities occurred.
A mid-April strait-transiting oil tanker unloaded 1 million barrels off South Korea Friday. Last year over 60% of South Korea’s crude came via the strait; it has capped gasoline and petroleum prices.
