Main developments
The US said it struck two Iran-flagged tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, as the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran comes under renewed strain.
A US fighter jet on Friday fired “precision munitions” at two unladen oil tankers attempting to pull into an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman, the Pentagon said. The vessels are “no longer transiting to Iran”.
The latest strikes come less than a day after the two nations exchanged fire in the strait.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said the US had struck Iran in response to an attack on American warships exiting the strait and warned of a more violent response. But he later described the attack on Iran as a “love tap” and said the ceasefire was still “in effect”.
US Central Command, which oversees Washington’s military operations in the Middle East, said the American strikes were an act of “self defence” following “unprovoked Iranian attacks” on Washington’s forces.
The Pentagon on Thursday said Iran launched missiles, drones and small boats at three US destroyers that were transiting the strait into the Gulf of Oman on Thursday.
Tehran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the US air strikes had targeted parts of Iran’s coast, including Bandar Khamir, Sirik and Qeshm Island, and had happened “with the co-operation of some regional countries”. Iranian forces responded by attacking US warships.
Early on Friday, the United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted Iranian drones as well as ballistic missiles.
Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, settled 1.2 per cent higher at $101.29 per barrel on Friday, but was down over the course of the week.
The S&P 500 gained 0.8 per cent to close at a record high.
The US said on Friday it would facilitate the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon on May 14 and 15, when a deadline for a ceasefire between the two sides expires.
Iran this week said it was studying a US proposal to end the war, reopen the strait and reach a deal over the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief and the unfreezing of some overseas assets.
About a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through the strait. The US has also imposed its own blockade of the waterway to prevent Iranian vessels exiting it.
Oil prices edge up on renewed Strait of Hormuz tension
Oil prices rose against a backdrop of renewed tension between the US and Iran around the Strait of Hormuz but remained lower than a week ago.
The international benchmark Brent crude settled 1.2 per cent higher at $101.29 a barrel on Friday, while West Texas Intermediate added 0.6 per cent to $95.42.
Helping keep Brent above the $100 mark, the US and Iran exchanged fire near the strait on Thursday, while American forces fired on and “disabled” an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on Friday. Donald Trump has said, though, that the ceasefire between the two warring nations remains in effect.
Since last Friday, the international oil benchmark and US marker each dropped 6.4 per cent, bringing up their first weekly decline in three weeks.
US to facilitate latest round of Israel-Lebanon talks next week
The US will next week facilitate another round of talks between Israel and Lebanon, when the deadline for their ceasefire is due to expire.
Donald Trump announced in late April that a 10-day ceasefire between the two sides would be extended by three weeks. With that deadline now less than a week away, the US said on Friday it would facilitate “intensive talks” between the Israeli and Lebanese governments on May 14 and 15.
On May 6, Israel carried out an air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hizbollah stronghold, in what marked the first hit on the Lebanese capital since the initial ceasefire was announced on April 8.
“These talks aim to break decisively from the failed approach of the past two decades, which allowed terrorist groups to entrench and enrich themselves, undermine the authority of the Lebanese state, and endanger Israel’s northern border,” the US state department said on Friday.