US launched operation Monday to help hundreds of ships trapped with their crews in Gulf – key US politics stories from Monday 4 May at a glance
Donald Trump has threatened that Iran will be “blown off the face of the earth” if it attacks US vessels trying to reopen a route through the strait of Hormuz.
The US launched an operation on Monday to help hundreds of ships trapped with their crews in the Gulf, dragging the region back to the brink of full-scale war.
Tehran sought to reassert its blockade on the strait, which is a vital waterway in global trade. While the US military claimed to have destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted both Iranian cruise missiles and drones, this was denied by Iran.
Trump’s comments call into question the fragile, Pakistan-brokered ceasefire that halted hostilities last month, but failed to open up the strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of international oil supplies usually travel.
