Iran-US struggle newest: Tehran ‘seizes oil tanker’ after launching assaults on UAE to place ceasefire in jeopardy

New analysis by the CIA suggests that the Islamic Republic may be more resilient than expected and could withstand the economic pain of the blockade until later this year.

The confidential report was delivered to officials in the Trump administration earlier this week, four people familiar with the document told The Washington Post.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio has said that that the US expects a response from Iran to its proposal to end the ongoing conflict on Friday.

“We’ll see what the response entails. The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation,” he told reporters in Rome on Friday.

Iran’s foreign minister accused the United States of repeatedly undermining diplomatic efforts on Friday with the fragile truce agreement in question as both sides renewed strikes.

Abbas Araghchi wrote in a brief statement that “every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure”, asking whether it was a “crude pressure tactic” or Donald Trump being “duped…into another quagmire”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that Washington is still waiting on an Iranian response to its latest proposal to end the war.

He says the US is expecting a response today that could pave the way for serious talks.

Ten crew members were injured in an alleged US Navy attack on an Iranian commercial vessel on Thursday, Iranian state media is reporting.

A local official tells the Mehr news agency they are still searching for five people missing after the ship was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz late on Thursday.

Centcom said that more than 70 tankers were being prevented from entering or leaving Iranian ports on Friday.

“These commercial ships have the capacity to transport over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth an estimated $13 billion-plus,” the US Central Command said in a post on X.

A fragile ceasefire is on the brink after Iran launched new missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates, a key US ally.

The country’s defence ministry said on Friday that it was “dealing with missile and drone attacks originating from Iran” and that its systems were intercepting “ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones”. No injuries have so far been reported.

However, president Donald Trump has insisted that the agreement with Iran was still holding after three US destroyers came under attack from missiles, drones and small boats in the Strait of Hormuz.

Though none of the vessels were hit, Washington launched retaliatory strikes on what it described as Iranian military sites, including launch positions and command centres.

Trump called Iranian leadership “lunatic”, warning Tehran that Washington will “knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!”

Iran, however, said the clashes were an “exchange of fire” after the US allegedly targeted vessels near the strait and claimed its forces had inflicted “significant damage” on American ships.

Conservative US radio host Mark Levin showed signs of a fracture in Donald Trump’s Maga base on Wednesday as he aired his concerns about a reported US proposal to end the war.

Levin said he believed the Axios report on a 14-point deal to halt Iranian enrichment, lift sanctions and end the war had to be “largely fake” in comments on social media.

“If the Axios report is close to accurate, the Iranian regime will survive, the Iranian people will face even more extensive brutality, and the Israeli government could fall in the October election. A disastrous result,” he said.

The Independent reviewed how the latest peace proposal stands up to past offers – and what the US may have to give up to end the war.

The European Union bought a record amount of gas from Russia‘s largest natural gas project in the first four months of the year as the Iran war pushes Europe back towards the fuel it has been trying to phase out.

The EU received 91 cargoes from Russia’s Yamal LNG project between January and April, totalling 6.69 million tonnes – the highest volume for that period since the project was launched in December 2017, according to new analysis of shipping data published on Thursday by environmental group Urgewald.

The bloc paid an estimated €3.88bn (£3.25bn) for the gas over the four months, based on benchmark market prices.

The UAE says its air defences engaged with 2 ballistic missiles and 3 drones from Iran on Friday, causing three injuries.