NPR
UAE reports drone and missile attack as Iran war ceasefire is challenged
+971 words added -1050 words removed
− By
The Associated Press
Cargo ships, including bulk carriers and general cargo vessels, sit at anchor offshore as a small motorboat passes in the foreground, in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, May 4 , 2026.
+ By
The Associated Press
Cargo ships, including bulk carriers and general cargo vessels, sit at anchor offshore as a small motorboat passes in the foreground, in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on May 4.
− Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP hide caption
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Iran war's shaky ceasefire was further strained on Friday as the United Arab Emirates responded to a missile and drone strikes, hours after the U.S.
+ Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP hide caption
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates said it responded to another Iranian missile barrage on Friday, hours after the U.S.
− said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and retaliated against Iranian military facilities.
+ said it traded fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz, in the latest blows to a shaky month-old ceasefire.
− There were no immediate reports of damage in the UAE.
+ State of the World from NPR A fraying ceasefire in southern Lebanon with villages destroyed The UAE's Defense Ministry said three people were wounded after air defenses engaged two ballistic missiles and three drones launched by Iran. It was not clear if all were successfully intercepted. Authorities told people to stay away from any fallen debris.
− Iran and the U.S.
+ The U.S.
− are trading blows as their negotiators are seeking a deal to end the fighting, but so far they've avoided a return to all-out fighting.
+ said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships and struck Iranian military facilities in the strait.
− It's not clear how close the two sides are to a deal on issues like Iran's nuclear program, which the U.S.
+ Iran has mostly blocked the critical waterway for global energy since the U.S.
− and Israel vowed to halt when they launched the war on Feb.
+ and Israel launched the war on Feb.
− 28, or the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that Iran has all but closed in a bid to pressure the global economy.
+ 28, causing a global spike in fuel prices and rattling world markets.
− On Thursday, Tehran said it was examining the latest U.S.
+ Middle East conflict Skeletons in their clothing: Recovering bodies from the rubble in Gaza The U.S.
− proposals for ending the war delivered to it via Pakistan, which is serving as a mediator.
+ military said Friday that its forces had fired upon and disabled two more Iranian tankers that were trying to breach an American blockade of Iran's ports.
− Trump played down the exchange of fire between Iran and the U.S.
+ U.S.
− Navy on Thursday.
+ President Donald Trump played down the exchange of fire on Thursday, calling the U.S.
− In a phone call with a reporter for ABC, Trump called the retaliatory strikes against Iran "just a love tap." He insisted the ceasefire is holding and a deal could come "any day," but reiterated threats of bombing if Tehran does not accept a deal that allows for resumption of oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict.
+ strikes a "love tap" in a phone call with ABC. But he reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran doesn't accept an agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program.
− "They have to understand: If it doesn't get signed, they're going to have a lot of pain," he told reporters in Washington.
Iranian state media said the country's forces exchanged fire with "the enemy" on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
+ Iran's Foreign Ministry said the U.S.
− It also reported loud noises and continuous defensive fire in western Tehran late Thursday night.
+ strikes were a "clear violation" of the ceasefire.
− The ceasefire between the U.S.
+ The violence came as Washington awaited a response from Tehran in negotiations to end the war.
− and Iran has largely held since April 8.
+ U.S.
− In-person talks between the two countries, hosted by Pakistan last month, failed to reach an agreement to end the war.
+ Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he expects to hear from Iran later Friday.
− The UAE's Defense Ministry advised residents not to approach, photograph or touch "any debris or fragments that have fallen as a result of successful air interceptions."
Hours earlier, the U.S.
+ "I hope it's a serious offer," Rubio told reporters.
− military said it had intercepted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday night and "targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S.
+ "I really do."
This is a locator map for Iran with its capital, Tehran.
− forces."
Central Command said in a social media post that U.S.
+ AP hide caption
The U.S.
− forces intercepted "unprovoked Iranian attacks" and responded with self-defense strikes.
+ military said it had intercepted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz late Thursday and "targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S.
− The U.S.
+ forces." The U.S.
− military said no ships were hit.
+ military said none of its ships were hit.
"They threaten Americans, they are going to be blown up," Rubio told reporters Friday.
Iranian state media said the country's forces exchanged fire with "the enemy" on Qeshm Island in the strait.
− It said it doesn't seek escalation but "remains positioned and ready to protect American forces."
Trump told reporters that the ceasefire was holding despite the violence.
+ It also reported loud noises and continuous defensive fire in western Tehran late Thursday.
− Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke by phone Thursday with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.
+ World Fallout from the Iran war may include a NATO where the U.S. is no longer its leader Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning what it called "hostile" U.S. military action against two Iranian oil tankers near the Iranian port of Jask and the strait, as well as strikes on nearby coastal areas.
− "We expect an agreement sooner rather than later," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said.
+ Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country has been in contact with the U.S.
− "We hope the parties will reach a peaceful and sustainable solution that will contribute not only to peace in our region but to international peace as well." He declined to give a timeline.
+ and Iran "day and night" in an effort to extend the ceasefire and reach a peace deal.
− Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking in televised remarks, said Islamabad remained in "continuous contact with Iran and the United States, day and night, to stop the war and extend the ceasefire."
Meanwhile, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to resume next week in Washington, according to a U.S.
+ Meanwhile, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon were scheduled to resume next week in Washington, according to a U.S.
− A Chinese-staffed oil tanker was attacked near the strait, apparently for the first time since the war began. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson expressed concern and said the tanker was registered in the Marshall Islands with Chinese crew on board. There were no casualties reported.
+ A nominal ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group has also been repeatedly challenged, including by ongoing fighting in southern Lebanon.
− Earlier on Thursday, a shipping data company reported that Iran has created a government agency to vet and tax vessels seeking passage through the strait.
+ Satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press show what appears to be an oil slick in the Persian Gulf emanating from the western side of Kharg Island, Iran's primary crude export terminal.
− The Iranian effort to formalize control over the channel raised new concerns about international shipping, with hundreds of commercial vessels bottled up in the Persian Gulf and unable to reach the open sea.
+ The images taken Wednesday show the slick covering roughly 95 square kilometers (36 square miles).
− Still, hope that the two-month conflict could soon be over buoyed international markets.
+ Windward AI, a maritime intelligence firm, said it first detected the spill in satellite images taken Tuesday and the slick was spreading southwest with the wind at a rate of about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) an hour.
− The report by shipping data firm Lloyd's List Intelligence that Iran has established a new government agency to approve transit and collect tolls from shipping in the strait raised concerns over the freedom of navigation on which global trade depends.
+ "If the slick continues drifting southward, there could also be risks to ecologically sensitive and protected marine areas in the Gulf," said Nina Noelle, an international crisis operations expert with Greenpeace Germany.
− The agency, called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, is "positioning itself as the only valid authority to grant permission to ships transiting the strait," Lloyd's reported in an online briefing Thursday.
+ The Pentagon declined to comment on whether the U.S.
− Lloyd's said the authority had emailed it an application form for ships seeking passage.
On Friday, an oil tanker that passed through the Strait of Hormuz in mid-April arrived off South Korea's coast for its 1 million barrels of crude to be unloaded at the HD Hyundai Oilbank refinery.
+ military was tracking the spill or whether there had been recent strikes on the Iranian island.
− South Korea, which last year imported more than 60% of its crude through the strait, has capped prices of gasoline and other petroleum products as the war raises fears of an energy crisis.
+ Based on the imagery taken earlier this week, the spill occurred before the most recent round of U.S. strikes.
− Iran has effectively closed the strait, a vital waterway for the shipment of oil, gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products, while the U.S.
+ Rubio said Friday that it's "unacceptable" for Iran to have a government agency that vets and taxes ships seeking passage through the strait.
Lloyd's List Intelligence, a shipping data company, reported Thursday that Iran has created the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, an agency that is "positioning itself as the only valid authority to grant permission to ships transiting the strait."
The Iranian effort to formalize control over the channel raised new concerns about international shipping, with hundreds of commercial vessels bottled up in the Persian Gulf and unable to reach the open sea.
"Is the world going to accept that Iran now controls an international waterway?" Rubio said.
− is blockading Iranian ports.
+ "What is the world prepared to do about it?"
Iran has effectively closed the strait, a vital waterway for the shipment of oil, gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products, while the U.S.
− The disruptions have sent fuel prices skyrocketing and rattled the global economy.
+ is blockading Iranian ports.
− The new Iranian agency formalizes a system Iran has used to let ships through the strait and charge tolls during the war.
+ A Chinese-crewed oil tanker was attacked near the strait.
− Iran aims to control which ships pass and, for at least some vessels, impose a tax on their cargo.
+ China has continued to import oil from Iran despite the effective closure of the waterway.
− Maritime law experts say Iran's demands to vet or tax vessels violate international law.
+ China's Foreign Ministry expressed concern, saying the tanker was registered in the Marshall Islands with Chinese crew on board.
− The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea calls for countries to permit peaceful passage through their territorial waters. The U.S. has threatened to impose sanctions on companies that pay tolls to Iran.
+ There were no casualties reported.
− The U.S.
+ An oil tanker that passed through the Strait of Hormuz in mid-April arrived off South Korea's coast on Friday with 1 million barrels of crude.
− and its Gulf allies are pushing for the U.N. Security Council to support a resolution that condemns Iran's chokehold on the strait and threatens sanctions. A prior resolution calling for reopening the strait was vetoed by Iran's allies Russia and China.
+ South Korea, which last year imported more than 60% of its crude through the strait, has capped prices of gasoline and other petroleum products.