In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, vessels are pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. AMIRHOSSEIN KHORGOOEI / AFP
The United States said it had destroyed several Iranian boats on Monday, May 4, and the United Arab Emirates reported fresh attacks on its territory, in the sharpest escalation since a fragile ceasefire was agreed in the Middle East war.
After US warships entered the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, President Donald Trump said Iran had "taken some shots" but caused no harm apart from damage to a South Korean vessel. He added that US forces had "shot down" seven small Iranian military boats. A US admiral earlier said six such vessels were destroyed, but Tehran denied any had been sunk.
Earlier, Trump had announced a plan to guide ships from neutral countries out of the Gulf, saying it was a humanitarian effort to help their stranded crews. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have been deadlocked since a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war against Iran took effect on April 8, with Tehran's stranglehold on the strait a main point of contention. But that truce was threatened Monday as fresh strikes hit the Gulf region, which has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks in response to US-Israeli strikes that sparked the Middle East war.
