US pushes to reopen Strait of Hormuz as Iranian attacks on UAE strain ceasefire

US forces began escorting commercial ships through Strait of Hormuz, easing a blockade since Iran-US conflict. Drone and missile incidents hit UAE sites and vessels, while fragile ceasefire persists amid tensions, diplomacy efforts, and global oil risks rising are now

Dubai: US forces on Monday launched an effort to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where hundreds have been stuck since the Iran war began.

Two American-flagged merchant ships have “successfully transited” through the critical waterway, the US military said. Separately, the US military denied Iran’s claims that it struck an American Navy vessel southeast of the strait.

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Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates on Monday said an Iranian drone sparked a fire at an oil facility in Fujairah, a key pipeline hub used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Shortly after the report, the British military said a cargo ship off the coast of the Emirates was ablaze. The UAE issued its first three missile alerts on Monday since the shaky ceasefire between Iran and the US took hold almost four weeks ago.

Iran handed over its latest proposal for negotiations with the US to mediators in Pakistan, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Friday. US President Donald Trump subsequently said he’s “not satisfied” with it, but did not elaborate on the proposal’s apparent shortcomings. The shaky ceasefire between the US and Iran has lasted for three weeks.

Here’s the latest:

Tehran doesn’t outright confirm or deny the attacks.

But early on Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that both the US and the UAE “should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire.” In similarly vague terms, Iranian state television earlier quoted an anonymous military official as saying Tehran had had “no plan” to target the UAE or one of its oil fields.

“The incident resulted from US military adventurism to create an illegal passage,” the official was quoted as saying about the oil facility attack, apparently referring to Trump’s latest efforts to reopen the strait, a critical waterway for global energy.

The United Arab Emirates said it had engaged a number of missiles and drones launched from Iran on Monday.

In an update posted on X, the defence ministry said its air defence systems engaged 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones. The attacks moderately injured three people.

A residential building housing employees in Oman was targeted Monday, officials said, though did not provide details of the incident.

The defence ministry said in a statement on X, citing an unidentified security source, that the building housed workers of a company in the Tibat district of the town of Bukha. Two foreigners were moderately injured, four vehicles were damaged and windows in a nearby house were shattered.

Bukha is a town on Oman’s Musandam peninsula, an enclave on the southern edge of the Strait of Hormuz that is separated from the rest of the sultanate.

Authorities did not say whether the incident was the result of an attack or identify its source, adding that an investigation is underway.

US, Gulf states to propose diplomatic measure for safe passage over Strait of Hormuz

US envoy to the UN Mike Waltz told reporters Monday that the US will be co-drafting a Security Council resolution with Bahrain and its Gulf allies that would “hold Iran to account” for its monthslong chokehold over the critical waterway.

The unreleased draft would require Iran to stop laying sea mines in the strait and halt all tolling efforts. It would also require the disclosure of the number and locations of the mines it has placed. It’s unclear what enforcement mechanism, if any, the resolution will have to ensure any of these demands.

But it is the latest diplomatic effort by the US and its Gulf allies after a similar resolution was vetoed by China and Russia hours before a temporary ceasefire was announced in early April.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Dan Caine, will hold a news conference on Tuesday, Trump said in a social media post on Monday.

Trump released no other details. But the news conference will come a day after the US military launched an effort to defend commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks.

Trump urges South Korea to send ships to Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump has urged South Korea to “come and join the mission” in the Strait of Hormuz, where the US military is defending commercial ships from Iran.

Trump said in a social media post that Iran had “taken some shot” at a South Korean cargo ship, though did not elaborate.

UN reiterates need for freedom of navigation in Strait of Hormuz but opposes military activity

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations is “still trying to fully understand” exactly what US statements saying the vital Strait of Hormuz is open.

Reports of an exchange of fire in the strait, which had carried about 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil and the United Arab Emirates intercepting Iranian missiles are “concerning,” he said.

“There’s not much clarity at this point, but what we do not want to see is a return to outright kinetic activity in this area,” Dujarric said.

“We need to see a return of what has been centuries of practice of common law, which is freedom of navigation in these waters,” he told U.N. reporters on Monday.

Israel closely watching developments in Gulf Israel’s military is closely monitoring the developments in the Gulf and remains on high alert, according to a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines.

The official added that there are currently no changes expected in guidelines for Israel’s civilians, including limitations on the size of gatherings, that are implemented during times of war.

— Melanie Lidman

Cooper does not offer details about whether US was protecting sites that came under Iranian attack Asked whether the US was protecting sites in the United Arab Emirates that came under Iranian attack, Cooper said he didn’t want to go into details.

The head of US Central Command told reporters Monday that the “UAE has exceptional capability. They’re well-positioned to defend themselves.” Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said an Iranian drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military also reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE.

Cooper says the Fujairah attack was “under their national jurisdiction” and not part of the new American effort to get commercial ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

UAE airspace nearly empty as warning sirens blare The airspace over the UAE was nearly empty Monday night as the country faced multiple sirens warning of incoming drones, according to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

Just days ago, the airport, which is among the world’s busiest, had announced it had mostly returned to full operations.

The United Arab Emirates condemned what it called “renewed treacherous Iranian aggression” targeting civilian sites that left three people injured, and called for an immediate halt to the attacks.

“These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable violation,” the UAE’s foreign ministry said in a statement on X, adding that the UAE reserves the right to respond in a way that protects its sovereignty and security.

Cooper says Iran initiated aggressive behavior’ in Strait of Hormuz In his call with reporters, Cooper declined to say whether the ceasefire between Iran and the US was over or not, but noted that it was Iran that “initiated aggressive behavior” in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

Cooper said the US military is serving as a defensive force “to give a very clear defence to commercial shipping, to allow them to proceed out of the Arabian Gulf.” “That’s what we’re focused on,” Cooper said. “What we saw this morning was Iran initiating aggressive behaviors. We are simply going to respond to that.”

US military clears pathway in Strait of Hormuz that is free of Iranian mines Cooper said the US military has been able to clear a pathway in the Strait of Hormuz that is free of any Iranian mines in an effort to allow commercial vessels to transit the narrow waterway.

Cooper said US military also has set up a “defensive umbrella” that includes American helicopters and fighter planes to protect the freighters leaving the strait.

US military says it sunk 6 Iranian small boats that were targeting civilian vessels Adm. Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command, said US military helicopters have sunk six Iranian small boats that were targeting civilian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

It is the latest test of the ceasefire between Iran and the US

US military says Iran has launched missiles, drones and small boats at ships the US is protecting in Strait of Hormuz Iran has launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at ships the US military is protecting, a top commander said Monday.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, said during a news conference that “each and every one” of the threats had been defeated.

Three Indian nationals injured in Fujairah attack, says authorities Authorities in Fujairah said an Iranian drone that sparked a fire at an oil facility left three Indian nationals injured.

The authorities said in a statement they suffered medium wounds and were transferred to the hospital.

Cargo ship on fire off the coast of the UAE as the nation warned of incoming attacks from Iran The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center announced the fire on the ship, saying it was in the vessel’s engine room. It said the ship’s crew was accounted for.

UAE’s eastern emirate of Fujairah says an Iranian drone sparked a fire at an oil facility Fujairah is the terminus of a pipeline the United Arab Emirates has used to avoid shipping some of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz in the Iran war.

The UAE on Monday issued its first three missile alerts since a ceasefire took hold.

Iran’s military command says ships passing through the strait must coordinate with them “We warn that any foreign military force – especially the aggressive US military – that intends to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted,” Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi told state broadcaster IRIB on Monday.

UAE issues another missile alert as tensions rise over the Strait of Hormuz The United Arab Emirates issued the alert without saying what prompted it.

It was the second such alert on Monday, after there had been none in recent weeks following the Iran ceasefire.

Authorities haven’t provided further details on either alert. An all-clear signal was issued minutes after the first alert. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Judge in dispute over Washington golf course tells Trump officials not to cut trees without notice The federal judge told the US government Monday not to cut down more than 10 trees without first providing notice amid a legal dispute at a historic Washington golf course President Trump plans to renovate.

US District Court Judge Ana Reyes said during a remote hearing that she wasn’t going to issue a temporary restraining order just yet in the case brought by the DC Preservation League. She also told the National Park Service that it should first discuss any plans with government lawyers if it was going to cut down more than 10 trees.

Monday’s hearing came after the plaintiff’s emergency petition seeking to stop work at the course, citing news reports that major renovations were to begin Monday.

Kevin Griess, the superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks for the Park Service, said during the hearing there was no plan to begin such work Monday but added that a safety assessment was underway.

Supreme Court restores access to the abortion pill mifepristone The Supreme Court’s order Monday blocks a ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortion is provided across the nation.

The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor.

Those rules had been in effect for several years until a federal appeals court imposed new restrictions last week.

The majority of abortions in the US are obtained through medications, usually a combination of mifepristone and a second drug, misoprostol. Their availability has blunted the impact of abortion bans that most Republican-led states have started enforcing since a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed for state bans.

Louisiana sued to restrict access to mifepristone, asserting that its availability undermined the ban there.

Sen. Steve Daines travels to China, ahead of planned state visit by Trump He announced Monday that he’ll lead a bipartisan congressional delegation on a visit to China this week, when the group of five senators will be visiting tech businesses in Shanghai and Beijing and meeting Chinese officials.

The trip will come just about a week before President Trump is scheduled to visit China for the first time since he took office. It also will be the first state visit by a US president since 2017.

Traveling with Daines are fellow Republican Sens. Deb Fischer, Mike Lee and Jerry Moran as well as Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell.

As part of its National Defence Strategy announced in January – a sweeping document laying out a vision on everything from deterring China to defending against cyberattacks to disrupting Iran’s nuclear ambitions – the Trump administration said Europe must do more for its own defence.

While “we are and will remain engaged in Europe, we must – and will – prioritize defending the US Homeland and deterring China,” it said.

Among other things, the document noted that Europe’s economic power, while shrinking in relative terms globally, remains significant, and said Germany’s economy alone “dwarfs that of Russia.” “Fortunately, our NATO allies are substantially more powerful than Russia – it is not even close,” it said, noting a recent commitment among NATO allies to raise national defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP in total, a push led by Trump.

The US European Command, created in 1947 and known as EUCOM, is one of 11 combat commands within the Defence Department, and covers some 50 countries and territories.

In addition to more than 36,000 troops in Germany, Italy hosts more than 12,000 and there’s another 10,000 in the United Kingdom, according to Pentagon numbers from December.

The Pentagon has offered few details about which troops or operations would be affected in the drawdown announced Friday.

The US increased its European deployment after Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine four years ago. NATO allies like Germany have expected for over a year that these troops would be the first to leave.

White House to hold a summit for small businesses The event in the East Room will bring together more than 130 small business owners as the president highlights his administration’s policies benefiting them.

“Our nation’s 36 million small businesses now have the confidence to hire, reinvest and expand, unleashing an historic era of sustained growth,” Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler said ahead of the event. “America is open for business again.” The gathering is meant to mark this year’s National Small Business Week and the owners represent manufacturing, food production, defence, energy and retail businesses, among other areas, according to the White House.

European leaders see Trump’s troop drawdown from Germany as new proof they must go it alone European leaders on Monday said President Trump’s snap decision to pull thousands of US troops out of Germany came as a surprise but is a fresh sign that Europe must take care of its own security.

The Pentagon announced last week that it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but Trump told reporters Saturday that “we’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.” He offered no reason for the move, which blindsided NATO, but his decision came amid an escalating dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the US-Israeli war on Iran, and Trump’s anger over European allies’ reluctance to get involved in the conflict in the Middle East.

Wall Street hesitates and oil prices climb with uncertainty about the Strait of Hormuz The US stock market is holding tentatively near its record heights  Monday, while oil prices climb with uncertainty about when oil tankers can resume crossing the Strait of Hormuz  and restore the world’s flow of crude. Dueling claims about a possible Iranian strike on a US Navy vessel in the strait heightened the tensions.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 216 points, or 0.4 per cent, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1 per cent.

The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 2 per cent to USD 110.37 and briefly topped USD 114 during the morning. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to its war with the United States has kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide. That in turn has sent the price of Brent soaring from roughly USD 70 per barrel before the war.