Middle East crisis live: US fires on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers it claims were trying to violate blockade

US fires on Iranian-flagged oil tankers it claims were trying to violate US blockade

The US Central Command (Centcom) claims it has struck two “unladen” Iranian-flagged oil tankers it said were attempting to violate the US blockade by entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.

“U.S. forces disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing U.S. blockade,” it said in a statement on social media.

Centcom claimed it had “disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks”. The statement added that US forces had also disabled a third Iranian-flagged vessel on Wednesday. “All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran.”

On Thursday Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships at the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas. The US insisted it struck in retaliation.

Lebanese authorities reported five people including a rescuer killed in fresh Israeli strikes.

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The Lebanese health ministry said in a statement that an Israeli raid on the town of Toura in the southern Tyre district killed four people, including two women, and wounded eight others in a preliminary toll.

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Lebanon’s civil defence said earlier that one of its members was killed in an Israeli attack on the south.

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Meanwhile, Hezbollah has said it launched missiles at a military base in Israel earlier on Friday in response to Israeli attacks that killed a top commander.

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In a statement, the Iran-backed militant group said the missiles targeted a base south of the Israeli city of Nahariya “in response to the Israeli enemy’s violation of the ceasefire, the targeting of Beirut’s southern suburbs and the attacks that affected villages and civilians in southern Lebanon”.

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Air raid sirens had sounded earlier in several cities in northern Israel, according to the Israeli military, which said it “intercepted one launch, and the additional launches fell in open areas”, adding that no injuries were reported.

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In a post on X, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei warned against “adventurism and roguish behaviour” following reported US military attacks on Iranian vessels in the strait of Hormuz.

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He said: “scheming and naive euphemisms such as ‘a light slap’ can do nothing to erase the profound disgrace born of narcissism, greed, reckless miscalculation, and lawless irresponsibility.”

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“The consequences of this whimsical adventurism and roguish behaviour have now become clear to the entire world. Disjointed, delusional tweets no longer hold any sway over reality—though, as ever, “the deeper they sink into folly, the more inventive they become in justifying it.”

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His comments came as the the US military also said it fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers earlier today apparently trying to bypass the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports (see post at 15.59 for more details). Despite these attacks, the US expects a response today from Tehran on a proposal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

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The US Central Command (Centcom) claims it has struck two “unladen” Iranian-flagged oil tankers it said were attempting to violate the US blockade by entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.

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“U.S. forces disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing U.S. blockade,” it said in a statement on social media.

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Centcom claimed it had “disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks”. The statement added that US forces had also disabled a third Iranian-flagged vessel on Wednesday. “All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran.”

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US military fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers, the M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, US Central Command said on Friday.”,”caption”:”The US military fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers, the M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, US Central Command said on Friday.”,”credit”:”Photograph: CENTCOM”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

On Thursday Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships at the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas. The US insisted it struck in retaliation.

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  US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Washington was expecting a response from Iran today to its proposal to end the war. “We’ll see what the response entails,” he said. “The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation.”

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  Washington and Tehran are negotiating a US proposal for both sides to reach an agreement to reopen the strait of Hormuz and cease hostilities for 30 days as they work on a more lasting deal, according to the New York Times, citing sources.

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  The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has accused the US of undermining diplomatic efforts to end the war, saying Washington was instead opting for “reckless military adventure”. In his first comments after the US and Iran traded attacks over the strait of Hormuz, he said: “Iranians never bow to pressure and diplomacy is always the victim.”

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  The US said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets after an attack on three American destroyers in the strait of Hormuz yesterday, while Tehran accused Washington of striking first. The exchange of fire threatens to unravel a fragile ceasefire in effect since 8 April.

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  Despite the tit-for-tat attacks, Donald Trump insisted the truce remains intact. “The ceasefire is going. It’s in effect,” the US president said yesterday, describing the strikes as “just a love tap”.

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  The UAE defence ministry said its air defence systems intercepted missiles and drone attacks from Iran. So far today, it downed two ballistic missiles and three drones, the ministry reported.

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  Iranian state media blamed the UAE for reported strikes in southern Iran yesterday. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing sources, reported that there were signs of UAE involvement in attacks on Qeshm, an Iranian island in the strait of Hormuz.

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  In Lebanon, where another nominal ceasefire continues to be challenged, Israel has launched attacks across the south as fighting intensified with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. The Lebanese health ministry and national news agency have reported at least five people were killed today in Israeli strikes, including a rescue worker with the civil defence.

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  Direct talks between Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to resume next week in Washington, the Associated Press reported, citing a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans for the closed-door meetings. The official said talks will be held 14 and 15 May.

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Marco Rubio also told reporters in Rome that the US should get a response on Friday from Iran to its proposal to end the war.

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“We’ll see what the response entails. The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation,” Rubio said.

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Axios has been reporting that the US believes it could be getting closer to reaching a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran, which could set the basis for more detailed nuclear negotiations at a later date.

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US and Iran exchanged fire late on Thursday in the most serious test yet of their month-long ceasefire, raising questions about the likelihood of a lasting agreement being secured.

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The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has issued a statement on social media accusing the US of “reckless military adventure” amid diplomatic efforts to end the war.

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It is the first comments by the minister after the US and Iran traded attacks over the strait of Hormuz, with both sides blaming each other for breaking the month-old truce.

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In his statement, Araghchi said:

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n

Every time a diplomatic solution is on the able, the US opts for a reckless military adventure. Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping [Donald Trump] into another quagmire?

n

Whatever the causes, the outcome is the same: Iranians never bow to pressure and diplomacy is always the victim.

n

Also, the CIA is wrong. Our missile inventory and launcher capacity are not at 75% compared to Feb 28 The correct figure is 120%.

n

As for our readiness to defence our people: 1,000%

n

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He was referring to a report by the Washington Post, citing US intelligence, that Iran retains about 75% of its prewar inventories of mobile launchers and about 70% of its stockpiles of missiles.

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Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi pictured during a visit to Russia, “,”caption”:”The Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in St Petersburg, Russia, on 27 April. “,”credit”:”Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1778237946000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”06.59 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1778239022000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”07.17 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1778238860000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”07.14 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”07.14″,”title”:”Iran’s foreign minister: ‘Iranians never bow to pressure'”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Fri 8 May 2026 14.11 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Fri 8 May 2026 03.53 EDT”},{“id”:”69fdb87d8f087a8ca712ddaa”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Iranian military has seized a tanker over an alleged attempt to disrupt the country’s oil exports, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

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Identifying the oil tanker as “Ocean Koi”, the news agency reported that it contained a shipment of Iranian oil and “was attempting to exploit regional conditions to damage and disrupt oil exports and the interests of the Iranian nation”, without elaborating further.

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The tanker was seized in the Gulf of Oman and taken to the southern coast of Iran, Tasnim reported.

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In Lebanon, the country’s civil defence agency said one of its rescue workers was killed in an Israeli strike this morning as he was travelling between two towns in the south.

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It is a further sign of a disintegrating ceasefire that took effect on 17 April, with Israel and Hezbollah continuing to trade blows and the Israeli military forcing people out of their homes in dozens of towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

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The Lebanese civil defence said their rescuer was killed “as a result of an Israeli strike that targeted him” on a road between Rachaya al-Foukhar and Kfar Shouba in Nabatieh district.

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Israeli military vehicle drives past houses destroyed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.”,”caption”:”An Israeli military vehicle drives past houses destroyed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Jalaa Marey/AFP/Getty Images”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Israeli military has not commented on the report.

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Since the war began in Lebanon on 2 March, the World Health Organization (WHO) had “verified 152 attacks on healthcare that resulted in 103 deaths and 241 injuries”, WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Wednesday.

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Also this morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has issued another warning ordering people in seven towns and villages in Nabatieh and southern Lebanese district of Tyre to flee their homes as the Israeli military prepares to launch further strikes. The IDF has issued such orders almost everyday since the ceasefire began.

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Oil is back over $100 a barrel as the US-Iran ceasefire came under strain, undermining hopes of an early reopening of the strait of Hormuz.

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The jump in oil price came two days after hopes of a peace deal breakthrough pushed it down.

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Brent, the price barometer for much of the world’s crude oil, is up 1% at $101 a barrel. That’s a fairly modest move, suggesting investors are still hoping that a deal will eventually be reached.

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Markets have slipped back thanks to questions about whether the US-Iran ceasefire is holding, reports Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank:

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n

Questions around the ceasefire have already had a market impact in Asia overnight, where all the major equity indices have lost ground. That includes the Nikkei (-0.69%), the KOSPI (-0.73%), Hang Seng (-1.17%), CSI 300 (-0.90%) and the Shanghai Comp (-0.43%).

n

Moreover, European equity futures are down, with those on the FTSE 100 (-0.70%) and the DAX (-0.87%) both lower, although US futures have picked up a bit after yesterday’s losses, with S&P 500 futures up +0.21%.

n

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Follow our business live blog for more:

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The UAE defence ministry said its air defense systems were intercepting missiles and drone attacks from Iran this morning, further straining the tenuous ceasefire.

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Iranian state media blamed the UAE for reported strikes in southern Iran yesterday. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing sources, reported that there were signs of UAE involvement in attacks on Qeshm, an Iranian island in the strait of Hormuz.

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There were no immediate reports of damage in the UAE. The defence ministry advised people not to approach, photograph or touch “any debris or fragments that have fallen as a result of successful air interceptions”.

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In a post on X, the ministry said: “The UAE’s air defenses are currently dealing with missile and drone attacks originating from Iran, and the Ministry of Defense confirms that the sounds heard in various parts of the country are the result of the UAE air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones.”

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Iran has frequently targeted the UAE and other Gulf nations that hose US military bases in retaliatory attacks since the beginning of the war in late February.

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Morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s Middle East live blog.

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The US said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets after an attack on three American destroyers in the strait of Hormuz, while Tehran accused Washington of striking first. The exchange of fire threatens to unravel a fragile ceasefire in effect since 8 April – but Donald Trump insisted the truce remains intact.

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“The ceasefire is going. It’s in effect,” the US president told ABC News, describing the strikes as “just a love tap”.

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He repeated this stance when asked during a visit to see renovations of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool whether the ceasefire was still on despite the attacks. “Yeah it is,” he said. “They trifled with us today. We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle.”

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Writing on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no damage done” to the US warships “but great damage done to the Iranian attackers”.

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He added: “We’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!”

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The deal he was referring to is the one-page proposal from the US that would have both sides reach an agreement to reopen the strait of Hormuz and end fighting for 30 days while they work on a longer term truce, the New York Times reported.

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still image from a video showing a missile travelling across a night sky.”,”caption”:”Iranian navy fires a missile, at an unknown location, in this image taken from a video.”,”credit”:”Photograph: WANA/Reuters”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Iran, meanwhile, accused the US of violating the ceasefire by attacking an oil tanker and another ship on Thursday, saying its forces “immediately and in retaliation attacked American military vessels”.

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Reacting to the attacks in the Gulf, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, wrote on X: “Making the same mistake again and again won’t get you a different answer; only a stronger one. Respect the new maritime regime of Iran.”

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The tit-for-tat attacks came as explosions shook the Iranian capital Tehran and coastal city of Bandar Abbas, as well as Qeshm, an island in the strait of Hormuz, according to state media. The reported attacks were blamed on the US and “enemy units”, with the semi-official Tasnim news agency suggesting UAE involvement.

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Israeli strikes kill five people in Lebanon, as Hezbollah fires rockets at northern Israel

Lebanese authorities reported five people including a rescuer killed in fresh Israeli strikes.

The Lebanese health ministry said in a statement that an Israeli raid on the town of Toura in the southern Tyre district killed four people, including two women, and wounded eight others in a preliminary toll.

Lebanon’s civil defence said earlier that one of its members was killed in an Israeli attack on the south.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has said it launched missiles at a military base in Israel earlier on Friday in response to Israeli attacks that killed a top commander.

In a statement, the Iran-backed militant group said the missiles targeted a base south of the Israeli city of Nahariya “in response to the Israeli enemy’s violation of the ceasefire, the targeting of Beirut’s southern suburbs and the attacks that affected villages and civilians in southern Lebanon”.

Air raid sirens had sounded earlier in several cities in northern Israel, according to the Israeli military, which said it “intercepted one launch, and the additional launches fell in open areas”, adding that no injuries were reported.

So, Donald Trump didn’t end up mentioning his war on Iran at the White House event earlier, but if you’re interested in what he did say, my colleague Shrai Popat covered it here:

The Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, has arrived in Washington for meetings with US officials.

The US vice president, JD Vance, is meeting the Qatari prime minister this morning to discuss the negotiations with Iran, according to US outlet Axios. The Qataris are acting as a vital back channel between the US and Iran, an American official told Axios.

The US president, Donald Trump, is expected to deliver remarks outside of the White House shortly. Stick with us as we will be providing any relevant Iran news.

Iran warns against ‘adventurism and roguish behaviour’ after US strikes oil tankers

In a post on X, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei warned against “adventurism and roguish behaviour” following reported US military attacks on Iranian vessels in the strait of Hormuz.

He said: “scheming and naive euphemisms such as ‘a light slap’ can do nothing to erase the profound disgrace born of narcissism, greed, reckless miscalculation, and lawless irresponsibility.”

“The consequences of this whimsical adventurism and roguish behaviour have now become clear to the entire world. Disjointed, delusional tweets no longer hold any sway over reality—though, as ever, “the deeper they sink into folly, the more inventive they become in justifying it.”

His comments came as the the US military also said it fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers earlier today apparently trying to bypass the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports (see post at 15.59 for more details). Despite these attacks, the US expects a response today from Tehran on a proposal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Lorenzo Tondo

Italy, alongside Spain, is the European country that has seen some of the largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protests against Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Last year, more than 2 million people took part in protests across 84 cities, with a general strike declared against the killing of civilians in Gaza. According to a recent YouTrend poll, nearly 60% of Italians disapprove of Israel’s actions in the Middle East.

The backlash between the two countries comes at a time of increasing unease among the Italian public about the broader implications of the conflict, particularly fears of economic fallout. Meloni, because of her closeness to Trump, is increasingly seen by some as complicit in this sense of looming instability.

Lorenzo Tondo

US secretary of state Marco Rubio met with Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, on Friday as both sides seek to ease tensions after Donald Trump accused Italy of “lacking courage” for refusing to join attacks on Iran and threatened to withdraw US troops from the country.

The meeting, although cordial, does not appear to have eased the tensions between the two countries, which seem to have remained firmly entrenched in their respective positions.

Questioned why allies including Italy were not backing Washington’s efforts to confront Iran and re-open the Strait of Hormuz Rubio told reporters: ‘‘I don’t understand why anybody would not be supportive,” adding that countries needed “something more than just strongly worded statements” if they opposed Iran’s actions.’’

‘‘It was a frank dialogue between allies who defend their respective national interests while fully understanding how precious the unity of the West remains,’’ Meloni said at the end of the talks with the US secretary of state.

The Italian PM, whose political alliance and personal rapport with Trump had long been openly embraced – with the Italian leader saying earlier this year that she hoped he would one day receive the Nobel peace prize – has openly criticised the US president over the war with Iran, describing the US-Israeli strikes as “outside international law”.

Moreover, in Italy – a country long seen as a symbol of Catholicism – Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo, whom he accused of supporting nuclear weapons and described as “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy”, have enraged Italian public opinion and forced Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to distance itself from Washington.

“I find President Trump’s remarks about the Holy Father unacceptable,” Meloni said in a statement. “She is the one who is unacceptable,” Trump snapped, “because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon.”

US fires on Iranian-flagged oil tankers it claims were trying to violate US blockade

The US Central Command (Centcom) claims it has struck two “unladen” Iranian-flagged oil tankers it said were attempting to violate the US blockade by entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.

“U.S. forces disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing U.S. blockade,” it said in a statement on social media.

Centcom claimed it had “disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks”. The statement added that US forces had also disabled a third Iranian-flagged vessel on Wednesday. “All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran.”

On Thursday Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships at the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas. The US insisted it struck in retaliation.

The internet blackout in Iran has entered its 70th day, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks, as the regime continues one of the longest-running national internet shutdowns ever recorded. NetBlocks said in a social media post:

Today marks the 70th day of Iran’s internet blackout, with the incident now surpassing 1656 hours. Digital connectivity is vital in times of crisis, and limiting service harms those most in need – people with disabilities, students, small businesses and the general public.

Senior government officials are awarded “white” SIM cards granting them access to the global internet while the vast majority of the population remains completely cut off.

Under pressure to alleviate the economic harm the shutdown is causing, the government has been allowing less-restricted internet access to a small number of professions, businesses and regime-friendly journalists.

There was an earlier internet shutdown in January during nationwide protests, which helped obscure extreme violence against Iran’s population.

Lebanon’s national news agency is reporting that Israeli warplanes launched a series of raids targeting southern Lebanese towns and villages this afternoon. At least five people were killed in the attacks, according to the report.

The Israeli military, which is continuing to issue forced evacuation orders in southern Lebanon, said earlier that Hezbollah had launched rockets and mortar bombs toward its forces in southern Lebanon. No casualties were immediately reported.

The renewed Israeli war on Lebanon started when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel on 2 March after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran in late February.

In its latest update, the Lebanese health ministry said since 2 March Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,727 people in Lebanon, including many women and children.

Israel has also established a “yellow line” in southern Lebanon where Israeli troops are active, comprising at least 55 villages. They have continued to demolish homes there -and the establishment of what is framed as a security zone has stoked fears of a long-term occupation.

The US Central Command claimed its forces were blocking 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports.

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

The US navy has blockaded Iran’s ports since 13 April, choking off crucial revenues for the country that relies almost entirely on the strait of Hormuz to export its oil.