Pete Hegseth says US are ‘locked and loaded’ to guard its ships in bid to interrupt Iran’s ‘unlawful stranglehold’ over Strait of Hormuz – dwell updates

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war as Iran and the US remain in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

• Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that his country had ‘not even started’ and that US actions in the Strait of Hormuz had put shipping at risk
• Stocks sank across Asian markets as a fresh spike in Middle East tensions fanned fears over the fragile US-Iran ceasefire, and oil prices fell back slightly after gains on Monday
• Denmark’s freight giant Maersk said one of its ships had sailed through the Strait of Hormuz under US escort, adding the transit was completed ‘without incident’
• India condemned a drone strike on an energy facility in the United Arab Emirates in which three Indians were injured, urging uninterrupted access to the Strait of Hormuz
• South Korea said it would ‘review its position’ on joining US operations in the Strait of Hormuz after Donald Trump urged Seoul to take part following an apparent Iranian attack on one of its ships
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for de-escalation in the Middle East after the United Arab Emirates reported attacks for the first time since a truce was declared nearly a month ago
• Iran had ‘no pre-planned programme’ to attack oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Iranian state TV quoted a military official as saying, after the UAE blamed the Islamic republic for a drone strike at an energy installation in Fujairah
• The United Arab Emirates’s education ministry ordered all schools to return to remote teaching for the remainder of the week following fresh attacks on the country by Iran
• A top US admiral said his country’s forces had destroyed six Iranian boats and shot down missiles and drones fired at US Navy and commercial vessels by Tehran’s military, though Tehran denied any boats had been sunk
• President Donald Trump played down tensions after US warships entered the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iran had ‘taken some shots’ but caused no harm apart from damage to a South Korean vessel

General Dan Caine, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Pentagon Iran has attacked the US on more than 10 occasions since the ceasefire was announced.

General Caine says Iran has ‘repeatedly threatened and attacked commercial shipping’ and is ‘weaponising the global supply chain’ in an attempt to ‘hold the entire global economy hostage’.

Pete Hegseth says the US remains ‘locked and loaded’ to protect its ships and soldiers amid a standoff in the Strait of Hormuz.

Hegseth says the US military is seeking ‘to break Iran’s illegal stranglehold’ over the strait.

He told the Pentagon briefing:

US aims to protect shipping from Iranian aggression. The US won’t need to enter Iranian airspace or waters as part of opening the Strait of Hormuz. We’re not looking for a fight. They said they control the strait, they do not.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said an ‘ironclad blockade’ remains in full effect in Iran.

Speaking at a Pentagon press briefing, Hegseth said Project Freedom, which he described as a temporary mission, was launched for humanitarian reasons as well as strategic.

Israel is co-ordinating potential new strikes on Iran with the US amid escalating tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, CNN is reporting.

According to the report, any new strikes would focus on energy infrastructure and target senior Iranian officials.

A source told CNN: ‘The intention would be to carry out a short campaign aimed at pressuring Iran into further concessions in negotiations.’

However, any decision to take strike action would rest with Donald Trump who is said to have been increasingly frustrated at the deadlock in negotiations.

The United Arab Emirates has restricted flights to a handful of approved routes until May 11 in response to Iran’s latest missile attack.

Emergency security protocols have been activated, according to Notices to Air Men (NOTAMs) published by its General Civil Aviation Authority.

The restrictions came two days after the UAE had lifted all precautionary airspace measures and said its airspace was clear.

Yesterday the UAE said its air defences were thwarting Iranian missiles and drones, forcing multiple flights to divert to Oman’s Muscat and circle over Saudi Arabia.

The USS George HW Bush has been deployed to support Donald Trump’s Project Freedom.

The US aircraft carrier has more than 60 aircraft on board and is currently stationed in the Arabian Sea to help enforce a naval blockade on Iran.

by Mark Almond for the Daily Mail

Does President Trump stand any real chance of re-opening the Strait of Hormuz, as he has promised to do? Is it, as some have claimed, an exercise doomed to fail?

On Sunday, throwing down yet another gauntlet to Iran, Trump announced that the US navy, backed by 100 aircraft, would free the 2,000 ships and 20,000 crew trapped in the Persian Gulf.

The grandly named ‘Operation Freedom’, due to have started yesterday morning, was supposed to end Iran’s stranglehold on the world’s energy and fertiliser supplies.

So far, we are yet to see much sign of it.

Perhaps that’s no surprise. The risk to Washington is all too obvious: a direct Iranian hit on an American vessel – let alone a sinking – could be enough to inflame opinion at home and force the US navy into a humiliating retreat.

But that’s not to say the enterprise is completely hopeless, not least because, for all the triumphant rhetoric of the mullahs, Iran and its people are suffering grievously.

Yesterday Iran said the US has responded to its latest proposal to end the war.

According to Iranian media agencies, Tehran has called for the the US to lift economic sanctions, end the naval blockade, withdraw forces from the region and cease all hostilities, including Israel’s operations in Lebanon.

Iranian officials said they were reviewing the US response, though foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters that changing demands made diplomacy difficult. He did not give further details.

Iran has claimed its proposal does not include issues related to its nuclear programme and enriched uranium – a driving force in tensions with the US and Israel.

Iran wants other issues resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire.

Donald Trump has expressed doubts over the weekend that the proposal would lead to a deal.

by Angharad Carrick, Business News Editor

The FTSE 100 opened lower this morning as tensions in the Middle East ratcheted up over the weekend, pushing oil prices higher.

London’s main index opened around 1 per cent – or 100 points – lower at 10,259, dragged lower by the rising price of Brent crude and playing catch-up with Monday’s selloff.

The price of a barrel has soared since the start of the conflict, reaching as high as $126 at one point last week. Prices have since retreated, before climbing 6 per cent on Monday to $114.44 a barrel.

This morning, Brent held onto most of Monday’s gains, slipping just 1 per cent to around $113 a barrel.

The already fragile ceasefire came under further pressure as the US and Iran exchanged fire in the region, and the UAE came under fresh attack.

Thailand has today approved a $12.2 billion emergency borrowing package to cushion the economic impacts of the Iran war – one the largest loans in decades.

The cabinet said the funding would be used to boost domestic spending and ease economic hardships as inflation rises and growth slows, with the finance ministry last week cutting its GDP growth forecast to 1.6 per cent, from 2.4 per cent last year.

The loan of about 400 billion baht will be deployed from June to September, and include aid for more than 20 million low-income people under the government’s ‘Thais Helps Thais’ scheme to ease living costs.

It will also be used to support alternative energy, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said at a news conference.

The US-Israel war against Iran that began in late February has roiled global energy prices, resulting in rising prices for oil and gas, shipping and consumer goods.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Beijing for talks, the foreign ministry said, amid stalled negotiations with the United States to end the Middle East war.

‘During the visit, he will meet his Chinese counterpart (Wang Yi) to discuss bilateral ties and regional and international developments,’ the ministry said in a brief statement.

It comes as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accuses China of ‘funding’ Iran as he urged Beijing to help Washington reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump is expected to visit the China next week for a meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping.