US launches 'self-defense strikes' on Iran; Trump says ceasefire still on
The Pentagon said the U.S. military launched "self-defense strikes" on Iranian targets Thursday after "unprovoked" attacks from the Islamic republic on U.S. Navy vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
No U.S. assets were struck by Iranian attacks, but U.S. forces hit Iranian military facilities behind the attacks, U.S. Central Command, the arm of the U.S. military overseeing operations in the Middle East, said in a statement. The agency added it does not want to see an "escalation" of the fighting.
"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces," the statement said. "CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces."
Iranian state media reported the U.S. struck Iranian ports on Qeshm Island and the city of Bandar Abbas. The two sites are located near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says they launched attacks on U.S. Navy assets after American forces tried to seize an Iranian oil tanker. U.S. forces on Wednesday struck an Iranian oil tanker, disabling the vessel.
The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for information. The apparent resumption of hostilities comes as President Donald Trump says progress is being made in negotiations as Tehran reviews a U.S. framework for peace talks.
Trump says ceasefire still in place, deal still possible
Michael Loria
President Trump told reporters Thursday evening that despite the attacks between the United States and Iran, the ceasefire remains in effect and a deal is still within reach for the two sides.
"Yeah, it is," Trump said regarding the ceasefire. "They trifled with us today. We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle."
U.S. officials said no American assets were hit under Iranian fire. Iran disputes that claim.
Regarding a peace deal, Trump said it "might not happen, but it could happen any day. I believe they want the deal more than I do."
White House officials are awaiting Iran’s response to a peace deal framework from Trump. It’s unclear what the framework includes but the administration has said Iran disavowing its nuclear program and free access to the Strait of Hormuz are top priorities. Iran has said it wants reparations for damage suffered under U.S. and Israeli attacks.
'We knocked them out': Trump celebrates US strikes
Michael Loria
President Donald Trump celebrated the U.S. military’s apparent counterattack on Iran on Thursday, saying Iran’s boats "dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!"
"Missiles were shot at our Destroyers, and were easily knocked down. Likewise, drones came, and were incinerated while in the air. They dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!" Trump said in a statement following Pentagon confirmation of the attacks near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran says its forces attacked U.S. vessels after Navy forces tried to seize an Iranian oil tanker. White House and Pentagon officials have not responded to requests for comment on Iran’s assertion.
Trump said the incident proves Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon and threatened more strikes "if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!"
"They are led by LUNATICS," the president said of Iran. "If they had the chance to use a Nuclear Weapon, they would do it, without question — But they’ll never have that opportunity and, just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!"
US launches 'self-defense strikes' on Iran, Pentagon says
Michael Loria
The Pentagon said they launched "self-defense strikes" on Iranian targets after "unprovoked" attacks from the Islamic republic.
"U.S. forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman," U.S. Central Command, the arm of the military overseeing operations in the Middle East, said in a statement.
No U.S. assets were hit, the U.S. Central Command statement said, adding that Iran launched missile, drones and small boat attacks on USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta and USS Mason.
"CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces," the statement said.
Iran accuses US of violating ceasefire
Michael Loria
Iranian officials are reportedly accusing the United States of violating the ceasefire following state media reports of attacks on an Iranian oil tanker and ports.
U.S. forces targeted "an Iranian oil tanker traveling from Iran's coastal waters near Jask toward the Strait of Hormuz, as well as another vessel entering the Strait of Hormuz near the Emirati port of Fujairah," a spokesperson for Iran's armed forces said in a statement carried by state media, according to Reuters. "At the same time, with the cooperation of some regional countries, they carried out air attacks on civilian areas along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik, and Qeshm Island."
White House and Pentagon officials have not responded to requests for comment.
US extends Iran war sanctions to senior Iraqi oil official
Michael Loria
The Treasury Department announced they are sanctioning a senior Iraqi government official in connection with their efforts to sanction Iran.
According to Treasury, Iraq’s Deputy Minister of Oil Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly is being sanctioned for using "his position to facilitate the diversion of oil to be sold for the benefit of the Iranian regime."
Iraqi officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Iran fired on 'the enemy,' State media report
Michael Loria
Iranian forces fired on "the enemy" in the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported.
According to the state media report, "an explosion at Bahman Quarantine Dock in Qeshm occurred during an exchange of fire between the Iranian armed forces and the enemy."
Qeshm is an island located just off the coast of Iran where the Strait of Hormuz meets the Persian Gulf.
"Following the attack of the U.S. army on an Iranian oil tanker, the enemy's units in the Strait of Hormuz came under Iranian missile fire, and after sustaining damage, were forced to flee," state media reported.
State media said U.S. forces were attempting to seize an Iranian oil tanker.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Trump extends deadline for EU trade deal with agreement on no nukes for Iran
Bart Jansen
Trump said he had a “great call” with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who agreed “that Iran can never have a Nuclear Weapon.”
“We agreed that a regime that kills its own people cannot control a bomb that can kill millions,” Trump said on social media on Thursday, May 7.
Trump’s comments about Iran came after he threatened the European Union with 25% tariffs on cars and trucks for failing to live up to a trade deal negotiated in Scotland last July that would have cut tariffs to nothing.
He extended the deadline for Europe to finalize the agreement to July 4 “or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels.”
China, Russia raised objections to UN resolution condemning Iran
Bart Jansen
China and Russia vetoed a resolution similar to the one that Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, proposed Thursday that demands Iran to halt its attacks. But another rejection on the eve of Trump visiting China would be diplomatically awkward.
The new text was drafted by the U.S. and Bahrain, with support from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.
China and Russia haven’t commented publicly on the new resolution. Diplomats said the two countries raised strong objections when the UN Security Council discussed it behind closed doors last week, Reuters reported.
Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, Bahrain’s envoy to the UN, said he looked forward "to working constructively with all council members in the days ahead to finalize this text."
US proposes United Nations resolution condemning Iran
Bart Jansen
Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, proposed a security council resolution Thursday, May 7, condemning Iran and demanding the removal of mines from the Strait of Hormuz and for trying to collect tolls for passage through the key waterway.
A similar resolution failed last month. But Waltz said countries will have to choose whether to side with a regime “that slaughters its own people, that brutalizes its neighbors, that strangles the world’s economy.”
“Now is the time for choosing,” Waltz said of a vote expected in the coming days.
Oil prices back below $100 a barrel
Rachel Barber
Oil prices continued to fall Thursday on reports that Iranian officials are reviewing a peace framework that could help end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude was down about 4% to around $97 a barrel in the morning on May 7.
Gas prices, which tend to follow moves in oil with a delay, were slightly higher on May 7. The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas hit $4.56, rising a few cents from the day prior, according to AAA. That’s up from $4.14 a month ago and up from $3.15 this time last year.
President Donald Trump told reporters earlier in the week he expects prices at the pump to drop “substantially” once the war is over.
U.S. touts 'strong relationship' with Vatican after Rubio meeting
Francesca Chambers
The State Department downplayed the divide between the Trump administration and Pope Leo XIV over Iran after a closed-door meeting between the pontiff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican.
Spokesman Tommy Pigott cast the visit as evidence of the "strong relationship" between the U.S. and the Vatican in a brief statement.
Pigott said Rubio and Leo discussed the "situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere."
"The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity," Pigott added.
Netanyahu says Hezbollah commander killed in Beirut strike
Christopher Cann
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said in a public address that a strike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut killed a high-ranking Hezbollah commander.
Israel's strike on Wednesday was the first in Lebanon's capital since a ceasefire between the two countries went into place last month.
Netanyahu said the Israeli military has killed 200 members of the Hezbollah militant group in the past month. At least 17 Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, according to the country's military.
Strikes on Lebanon since the start of the war have killed more than 2,700 people, mostly civilians, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. Israeli forces for weeks have occupied a significant stretch of southern Lebanon, displacing residents and destroying villages as part of a "buffer zone."
Pakistani official says he expects a US-Iran peace deal soon
Christopher Cann
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi on Thursday said he anticipates that a peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran will soon come together.
"We expect an agreement sooner rather than later," he told reporters, without elaborating. Andrabi did not say whether Pakistan expects a response to the latest U.S. proposal.
"We remain positive," he said. "We hope the settlement will be sooner rather than later."
Pakistan has remained a central mediator between the U.S. and Iran since the war began in February. An initial round of peace talks was held in the capital of Islamabad last month.
'Deeply alarming': UN slams Israeli attacks on Lebanon healthcare workers
Michael Loria
The United Nations called out Israel over its strikes killing healthcare workers, saying the World Health Organization has recorded 151 such attacks resulting in 103 deaths and 230 injuries.
"Attacks on healthcare also remain deeply alarming," UN officials said in a statement. "These incidents undermine people’s access to care and place both patients and frontline responders at serious risk."
According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the most recent attack came overnight and killed one emergency worker and injured three inside Lebanon.
There have been at least five such attacks on healthcare workers over the course of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, UN officials said.
The UN also called out Israel over displacing Lebanese people from their homes. The situation between the two countries remains "highly volatile despite the ceasefire," UN officials said.