US fights to open Strait of Hormuz as Iran retaliates

America claims to have sunk several small Iranian vessels as Tehran launches fresh airstrikes on neighbours and US Navy

- ADAM SCHRECK IN DUBAI AP

The US military said it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small boats targeting civilian ships as it moved to reopen the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.

The United Arab Emirates, a key American ally, said it had come under attack from Iran for the first time since a fragile ceasefire took hold in early April.

Tehran’s semiofficial state news agency Fars reported a US warship was turned back after it was struck while sailing near Jask island, following an earlier threat from Iran to attack any US boats that sought to enter the strait.

US Central Command (Centcom) said on X that “no US Navy ships have been struck”. It did not directly respond to claims that a warship had been made to turn back.

The attacks appeared to be in response to President Donald Trump’s latest efforts to reopen the strait, a critical waterway for global energy. The US military said two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the strait yesterday as part of a new initiative.

The UAE Defense Ministry said its air defences had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE.

Breaking Iran’s chokehold on the strait would ease global economic concerns and deny Tehran a major source of leverage. But such efforts also risk reigniting the full-scale fighting that erupted when the US and Israel first attacked Iran on 28 February, prompting it to close the strait.