TEHRAN, May 09 (Agencies): The US and Iran appeared no closer on Saturday to finding an end to their war after the two sides traded fire in the Gulf amid a tenuous ceasefire, while a US intelligence analysis concluded Tehran could withstand a naval blockade for months.
Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack on Friday.
Washington has been awaiting Tehran's response to a US proposal that would formally end the war before talks on more contentious issues, including Iran's nuclear program. Speaking in Rome on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was expecting a response that day, although an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran was still weighing its response.
Sporadic clashes continued on Friday between Iranian forces and US vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported. The Tasnim news agency later cited an Iranian military source saying the situation had calmed but warning more clashes were possible.
The US military said it struck two Iran-linked vessels attempting to enter an Iranian port, with a US fighter jet hitting their smokestacks and forcing them to turn back.
Tehran has largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the strait since the war began with US-Israeli airstrikes across Iran on February 28. Before the war, one-fifth of the world's oil supply passed through the narrow waterway.
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the US of opting for a "reckless military adventure" every time a "diplomatic solution is on the table".
Iranians would "never bow to pressure", Araghchi said in a post on X, a day after each side accused the other of launching attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and as the US fired on more Iranian vessels.
Despite the clashes, Trump said the ceasefire was intact. It is meant to enable talks to end the war that the US and Israel launched in February.
Iran was expected to respond to US proposals on Friday, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"I hope it's a serious offer, I really do," Rubio said during a visit to Italy.
Meanwhile, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said that Washington is expecting a response from Iran to its proposals for an interim deal to end the conflict in the Middle East, as Iran accused the US of breaching the increasingly fragile ceasefire announced last month.
In recent days there have been the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the contested strait of Hormuz since the informal truce began. The rise in violence followed Donald Trump’s announcement – then rapid pause – of a new naval mission aimed at opening the strategic waterway.
On Friday US forces fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that attempted to violate the American blockade of Iran’s ports, the US military said.
Despite the clashes diplomatic efforts continue, with the mediators Pakistan passing a brief memorandum to Iran that the US has said could act as a basis for a more solid ceasefire and allow new talks.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Saturday Europe wanted to work to keep the NATO alliance functioning, despite differences with the United States that the Iran war has exposed.
Tensions between US President Donald Trump's administration and European NATO partners have raised questions about the future of NATO.
Already high after US criticism of Europe over defence spending and issues like immigration policy, the tensions have increased after Germany and other European countries refused to support the US and Israeli war against Iran that began at the end of February.
