Iran has fired cruise missiles and drones, and has launched small boats to target U.S.-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz, but none were struck, according to the commander of U.S. Central Command.
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The U.S. used attack helicopters to blow up the small boats and intercept the drones, according to Adm. Brad Cooper. He said in a call Monday that U.S. Navy ships were protecting U.S. commercial vessels transiting the strait, as part of President Donald Trump’s new mission to guide stranded vessels through the critical waterway.
Cooper would not address whether this meant the U.S.-Iran ceasefire that began April 8 was now over. Iran and the U.S. each denied there had been any damage done to their vessels, as both nations appeared to play down the military activity in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I wouldn’t go into details of the whether the ceasefire is over or not,” Cooper said. “I think the key thing is for us is we’re merely there as a defensive force and enforce, to give a very thick layer of defense to commercial shipping to allow them to proceed out of the Arabian Gulf.”
But Cooper said Iran was “initiating aggressive behavior.”
The regime launched “multiple cruise missiles” at U.S.-flagged ships in the Strait, and at the U.S. Navy ships that were protecting the commercial vessels, Cooper said.
Iran claimed to have struck an American warship, but Central Command said no ship was hit. Iran also denied the U.S. sank any of its boats, according to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
The ministry of defense of the United Arab Emirates said Monday in a post on X that they had “engaged” 12 ballistic missiles, 3 cruise missiles and 4 drones fired from Iran, which resulted in 3 mild injuries.
Over the weekend, the United Arab Emirates said Iran had launched missiles at the country for the first time since a ceasefire was declared a month ago. Iranian state media reported it had no plans to target the UAE.
And the South Korean government also said an explosion and fire had occurred on a South Korean-operated cargo ship. In a statement, the country’s foreign ministry said the ship was Panama-flagged and called it a “possible attack.”
There were 24 crew members on board, the foreign ministry said — six South Koreans and 18 from other countries — and no casualties were reported.
The vessel was at anchor near the UAE in the strait when the explosion happened, it said.
Speaking on Truth Social Monday, Trump said Iran had “taken some shots” at other countries, and he encouraged South Korea “to come and join the mission!”
In a separate post Monday, Trump didn’t acknowledge Iran had targeted any U.S.-flagged vessels.
“We’ve shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, “fast” Boats. It’s all they have left. Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait,” he wrote.
And in an interview with Fox News, Trump warned that if Iran attacks any American vessels they will be “blown off the face of the Earth.”
Asked if the ceasefire with Iran is over and whether a U.S. attack is imminent in an interview on the “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” Trump replied, “Well, I can’t tell you that.”
Trump announced Sunday that beginning on Monday the U.S. military would help free ships that have been “locked up” and unable to pass through the key trade route amid the maritime standoff between Tehran and Washington.
Cooper said that multiple Navy-guided missile destroyers are operating in the Gulf, helping commercial shipping and providing air defenses with their helicopters.
Iran signaled an aggressive response to this latest bid to break its stranglehold over the strait, which has left global shipping at an effective standstill and sent energy prices spiraling.
Tehran issued a new map and a flurry of statements that sought to reassert its control. Early Monday, it claimed to have stopped U.S. destroyers from entering the strait.
After the U.S. warships ignored several radio warnings, Iran fired cruise missiles, rockets and combat drones near them, army public relations said in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
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