Fragile US-Iran Truce Tested by New Attacks
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday renewed U.S. calls for global partners to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz following a brief exchange of fire the previous day that threatened to derail the monthlong ceasefire in the Iran war.
President Donald Trump, who on Monday ordered American naval forces to begin escorting merchant vessels through the waterway, said Iranian forces had fired upon a South Korean cargo ship. In response, the U.S. militarystruck seven fast boats, he said.
They were the first shots in anger since Washington and Tehran agreed on a two-week ceasefire beginning on April 7. The truce was later extended, but the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports has continued to be enforced since April 13.
The attack on the Panamanian-flagged HMM Namu left the vessel temporarily ablaze, but none of the ship's 24 crew was injured, according to South Korean operator HMM. The vessel was being towed to Dubai, the shipowner said.
Since U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28, some 45 attacks or attempted strikes on civilian vessels have been reported in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, according to the British military-run U.K. Maritime Trade Operations.
Strait of Hormuz-A New Flashpoint
At a press conference at the Pentagon, Hegseth said the U.S. was looking to the likes of Japan, South Korea and Australia-all key U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific-to join Trump's Project Freedom, the quasi-military operation seeking to secure safe passage for U.S. and other ships through the strait.
More than two dozen South Korean-flagged vessels were still stuck in the Gulf, and Japanese-linked ships numbered around 40, according to figures released by both governments. Seoul said it was considering the U.S. proposal, while Tokyo previously declined to participate.
On Monday, the United Arab Emirates, where the U.S. military has a significant presence, reported intercepting Iranian drones and missiles for the first time since the ceasefire began. A suspected Iranian drone incursion triggered a large fire at the oil refinery at Fujairah port, authorities said.
Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guard and its regular armed forces jointly oversee Tehran's interests in the Strait of Hormuz. Indiscriminate attacks on vessels of all flags have closed the choke point for weeks, effectively disrupting the supply of at least 20 percent of the world's crude oil and natural gas supplies.
U.S. destroyers sent into the Gulf assisted in the outbound transit of two U.S.-flagged commercial ships on Monday, according to the Central Command. Earlier, CENTCOM denied Iranian state media reports that said an American warship had been struck by missiles.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and lead negotiator in talks with the United States, said on X on Tuesday that Tehran was solidifying its control over the strait.
“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet,” Ghalibaf said.
CENTCOM said U.S. forces had prevented a total of 51 vessels from entering or leaving Iranian ports as of early Tuesday, on the 23rd day of the blockade, which aims to cut Iran's crude exports-its main source of government revenue-in the hope of forcing Tehran to sue for peace.
Commodities analysts believe Iran has mere weeks left of onshore and floating oil storage capacity before it will need to wind down or cease production. Failure to deliver oil to its main buyer, China, could result in losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars per day.
What Will Trump Do Next?
But as the U.S. and Iran remain at odds over the conditions of a lasting peace deal, the Iranian oil industry could prove more resilient than Trump is patient, in a potential test of Trump's reluctance so far to target key Iranian energy sites.
"Initially, there had also been a hope that there would be imminent regime change and that a new regime in Iran more favorable to the U.S. would need to have working energy infrastructure in order to stabilize the country," said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
"The U.S. appears to be mulling several options including limited but powerful airstrikes that target Iran’s infrastructure as a means of breaking the diplomatic logjam and compelling Iran to the negotiating table, or doubling down on economic pressure both via the blockade and secondary sanctions, calculating that Iran will not be able to withstand increased economic pressure and coercive actions," Yacoubian said.
The U.S. blockade may not cause serious damage to Iranian wells, which have been shut in and restarted in the past, according to Robin Mills, CEO of Dubai-based consultancy Qamar Energy.
"If and when the blockade is relaxed, Iran will probably be able to resume production promptly at about 70 percent and regain most of its pre-war capacity within a few months," Mills wrote in a recent report for Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, where he is a nonresident fellow.
"Of course, the loss of oil and petrochemical revenue to the government due to the embargo is serious and will intensify economic pressure on Iran…But these effects will play out over a rather longer period," he said.
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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 8:59 AM.