The US military claims to have sunk six small Iranian boats as tensions rise in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Admiral Brad Cooper said the navy had eliminated six small boats attempting to interfere with commercial shipping, which he claimed Iran was targeting with cruise missiles. He said US military ships were also being targeted.
An Iranian military official denied the US navy report, according to Iranian state television.
It comes after US Central Command denied Iranian claims that two Iranian missiles struck a US warship intending to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Semi-official state news agency Fars said the warship was turned back after it was struck while sailing near Jask island, after Tehran earlier warned it would attack any US boats that entered the Strait of Hormuz.
US president Donald Trump had vowed to free commercial ships stranded in the waterway as part of so-called “Project Freedom” on Monday morning to “free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong”.
Iran had afterwards warned that “any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked” if they approach the Strait.
Pictured: A man holds a flag with a picture of late leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, late Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, during a rally in Tehran
(Reuters)Bryony Gooch5 May 2026 03:00
US claims to sink six Iranian boats as Trump moves to reopen HormuzBryony Gooch5 May 2026 02:00
Watch: Trump tells Fox that Iran will be ‘blown off the face of the earth’ if military targets ships in StraitTrump tells Fox that Iran will be ‘blown off the face of the earth’ if military targets ships in StraitBryony Gooch5 May 2026 01:00
Aragchi: events in Hormuz show no military solution to the crisisIran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said events in the Strait of Hormuz showed there was no military solution to the crisis, adding that talks were making progress with Pakistan’s mediation while warning the United States and the United Arab Emirates against being drawn into a “quagmire by ill-wishers.”
Bryony Gooch5 May 2026 00:00
Fire extinguished on South Korean shipperSouth Korean shipper HMM said on Tuesday that the fire on its vessel in the Strait of Hormuz has been extinguished.
The ship will be towed to a nearby port in Dubai, the company said, adding no casualties have been reported so far.
Bryony Gooch4 May 2026 23:30
Oil jumps, stocks drop as Iran tightens grip on Strait of HormuzOil prices jumped 6 per cent on Monday and stocks fell as Iran escalated its military campaign, hitting several ships in the Strait of Hormuz and setting a United Arab Emirates oil port ablaze.
Brent futures rose $6.27, or 5.8%, to settle at $114.44 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $4.48, or 4.4 per cent, to settle at $106.42. The moves came after US president Donald Trump pledged over the weekend that the US Navy would force the strait open, provoking the war’s biggest escalation since a ceasefire was declared four weeks ago.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and gas normally flows, has been severely disrupted for two months.
US stocks fell broadly, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.13 per cent, the S&P 500 0.41 per cent lower, and the Nasdaq Composite off 0.19 per cent.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.99 per cent. Germany’s 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone bloc, rose 5 basis points to 3.08 per cent. Markets in London were closed for a public holiday.
Bryony Gooch4 May 2026 23:00
UAE confronted 19 missiles and drones from Iran on MondayThe United Arab Emirates defence ministry says it confronted 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones fired by Iran on Monday.
Bryony Gooch4 May 2026 22:00
Saudi crown prince condemns Iranian attacksSaudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman condemned Iran’s “unjustified” attacks on the United Arab Emirates in a phone call with the UAE president, according to the Saudi state news agency.
Bryony Gooch4 May 2026 21:51
US claims to have reopened a lane through the straitThe US.-led Joint Maritime Information Center had advised ships Monday to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it had set up an “enhanced security area.”
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, told reporters that American forces have successfully opened a passage through the strait that is free of Iranian mines. He said Iran launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the U.S. military’s protection.
US military helicopters sank six of the small boats, Cooper said, adding that “each and every” threat had been defeated.
“The US commanders who are on the scene have all the authority necessary to defend their unit and to defend commercial shipping — as we saw and demonstrated earlier today,” Cooper said.
Trump had warned Sunday that Iranian efforts to halt passage through the strait “will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”
Bryony Gooch4 May 2026 21:30
Trump says gasoline prices will drop once Iran conflict resolvedPresident Donald Trump said on Monday that he believes high gasoline prices will drop rapidly once the Iran conflict is resolved.
Bryony Gooch4 May 2026 21:08
