War In Iran: 1)Trump to pause U.S. effort to guide vessels out of Strait of Hormuz to allow time for an Iran deal; 2) (Updated) The U.S. fights to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the UAE comes under attack in a test of Iran truce

1)Trump to pause U.S. effort to guide vessels out of Strait of Hormuz to allow time for an Iran deal

Courtesy Barrie360.com and  The Associated Press

By Aamer Madhani, Adam Schreck, Ben Finley And Elena Becatoros, May 5, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday evening that he is pausing the U.S. effort to guide stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz to allow time for a deal to end the Iran war, but that the American forces’ blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.

Trump announced the decision in a social media post, saying the effort — which started on Monday in the vital waterway for global energy — would pause for a short period to see whether an agreement with Tehran on ending the war in the Middle East could be finalized.

Trump said the move was based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment for further detail on the progress in negotiations that Trump mentioned. The talks have largely stalled though a ceasefire that took hold nearly a month ago is holding.

The United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, said it came under attack from Iranian drones and missiles for a second day on Tuesday, even as U.S. military leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted the ceasefire was still holding and that — while the conflict is not resolved — the initial major U.S. military operation against Iran has concluded.

Before the Trump announcement, Rubio told a White House press briefing that for peace to be achieved, Iran must agree to Trump’s demands on its nuclear program and also agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“We would prefer the path of peace,” Rubio said. He also expressed hope that during the expected visit to China by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, Beijing would reiterate to Tehran the need to release its chokehold on the strait.

U.S. pushed efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Tuesday was only the second day in the U.S. push to reopen the strait to maritime traffic — an operation Rubio described as defensive and aimed at helping thousands of civilian sailors stranded there by the war.

“They’re sitting ducks, they’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re vulnerable,” Rubio said. “At least 10 sailors have already died as a result.”

On Monday, the U.S. said it had opened a lane and sunk six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships. So far, only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the new U.S.-guarded route, with hundreds more bottled up in the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, through which major oil and gas supplies passed before the war, along with fertilizer and other petroleum products, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and rattled the global economy. Breaking Iran’s grip would deny its main source of leverage as Trump demands a major rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Iran says the new U.S. effort violates ceasefire

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the U.S. military’s top officer, told a news conference that Iran’s renewed attacks had not reached the threshold of what Caine called “major combat operations.” He said Tuesday marked a “quieter” day in the strait.

At the White House, Rubio said clashes with Iran related to American efforts to reopen the straight were “defensive in nature.”

“There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first, OK?” Rubio said. “We’re not attacking them.”

Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, signaled that Iran has yet to fully respond to the U.S. attempt to reopen the waterway.

“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet,” he said in a post on X. His statement did not mention negotiations with the U.S. that are now in the form of passing messages via Pakistan.

Disputing Washington’s claim of sinking six Iranian boats, an Iranian military commander said two small civilian cargo boats were hit Monday, killing five civilians, Iran’s state TV reported.

Caine, the top U.S. general who serves as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more than 100 U.S. military aircraft are patrolling the skies over the strait. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.

The Trump administration has cited the April 8 ceasefire in asserting that the president does not have to give a formal update to Congress on the war under the War Powers Resolution. That law typically requires presidents to seek formal approval from Congress for war activities 60 days after beginning military action.

Shippers remain wary

So far, just two civilian vessels, both U.S.-flagged merchant ships, are known to have passed through the strait as part of the lane the U.S. says it has created. Shipping company Maersk said one of them, a vehicle carrier that it operates, exited the strait safely Monday with U.S. military assistance.

Former military officers who have served on the strait have said opening it would be dangerous and highly challenging, even with military escorts, which the U.S. is not providing now.

There’s little room to maneuver in the waterway that is just 21 miles (34 kilometres) wide, and Iran can reach all of the strait and its approaches with cruise missiles. It also can target vessels with longer-range missiles, drones, fast attack craft and mines.

Hapag-Lloyd AG, one of the world’s largest container shipping companies, said in a statement that its risk assessment “remains unchanged” and that transits through the strait “are for the moment not possible for our ships.”

Iran has attacked ships that try to transit without going through its own route in the northern part of the strait along the Iranian coastline. That involves being vetted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and in some cases making a payment.

The U.S.-approved route goes through territorial waters of Oman to the south.

“For shipping companies and for insurance companies, they still have to wait and see how this plays out,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

The UAE bore the brunt of Iran’s retaliation

The UAE’s Defense Ministry said it was responding to another Iranian drone and missile attack on Tuesday, though there were no reports of damage or casualties. A day earlier, it said Emirati air defences had engaged 15 missiles and four drones from Iran, one of which sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals.

The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE, also on Monday.

Iran denied striking the UAE “in recent days,” according to a statement by Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for Iran’s joint military command, that was read Tuesday on state TV.

2) (Updated) The U.S. fights to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the UAE comes under attack in a test of Iran truce

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Adam Schreck, Ben Finley And Sam Metz, May 4, 2026

The U.S. military said it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small boats targeting civilian ships as it moved to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The United Arab Emirates, a key American ally, said it had come under attack from Iran for the first time since a fragile ceasefire took hold in early April.

The attacks appeared to be in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest efforts to reopen the strait, a critical waterway for global energy. The U.S. military said two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the strait on Monday as part of a new initiative.

The UAE Defense Ministry said its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE.

Breaking Iran’s chokehold on the strait would ease global economic concerns and deny Tehran a major source of leverage. But such efforts also risk reigniting the full-scale fighting that erupted when the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran on Feb. 28, prompting it to close the strait.

Reports of new attacks raised doubts as to whether shipping companies, and their insurers, would take such a risk given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so. Iran has said the new U.S. effort is a violation of the fragile ceasefire that has held for more than three weeks.

U.S. says it has reopened a lane through the strait

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, which runs between Iran and Oman, has caused a spike in worldwide fuel prices and rattled the global economy. The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center had advised ships Monday to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it had set up an “enhanced security area.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters that American forces have successfully opened a passage through the strait that is free of Iranian mines. He said Iran launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the U.S. military’s protection.

U.S. military helicopters sank six of the small boats, Cooper said, adding that “each and every” threat had been defeated.

“The U.S. commanders who are on the scene have all the authority necessary to defend their unit and to defend commercial shipping — as we saw and demonstrated earlier today,” Cooper said.

Trump had warned Sunday that Iranian efforts to halt passage through the strait “will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”

He described “Project Freedom” in humanitarian terms, designed to aid stranded seafarers on hundreds of ships that have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency called the effort part of Trump’s “delirium.”

Missile alerts in the UAE for the first time since ceasefire

The UAE condemned what it called “renewed treacherous Iranian aggression” and called for an immediate halt to the attacks.

Four missile alerts were issued Monday urging UAE residents to find shelter — the first such alerts since the ceasefire began nearly a month ago. Commercial planes bound for the UAE — home to the global travel hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi — turned around midair.

The extent of the attack on Fujairah was unclear, but it is the terminus of a pipeline the UAE has used to avoid shipping some of its oil through the strait. The emirate on the Gulf of Oman is home to extensive oil storage facilities and is the UAE’s main sea access outside the strait.

“These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable violation,” the UAE’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X.

In Oman, authorities said a residential building near the strait “was targeted,” resulting in two foreign workers wounded, four vehicles damaged and nearby windows shattered. The report carried by state-run media did not provide further details.

Iran seeks to maintain its grip on the strait

Iran’s military command has warned that ships passing through the strait must coordinate with them.

“We warn that any foreign military force — especially the aggressive U.S. military — that intends to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted,” Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi told state broadcaster IRIB.

The South Korean government said an explosion and fire had broken out aboard a South Korean-operated ship anchored in the strait off the UAE. No injuries were reported. It was not immediately known if the vessel was one of the burning ships reported by the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.

Trump said in a social media post that Iran had “taken some shot” at a South Korean cargo ship, without elaborating.

The UAE accused Iran of targeting a tanker linked to its main oil company with two drones as it navigated the strait. It did not say when the attack occurred. No injuries were reported.

The disruption of the waterway has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf oil and gas, raising prices far beyond the region.

The U.S. has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran for transit of the strait.

The U.S. has meanwhile enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, telling at least 49 commercial ships to turn back, according to Central Command.

The blockade has deprived Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy. U.S. officials have expressed hope that the blockade will force Iran to make concessions in talks on its disputed nuclear program and other longstanding issues.

Little progress seen in negotiations

Iran’s latest proposal for ending the war calls for the U.S. lifting sanctions, ending the blockade, withdrawing forces from the region and ceasing all hostilities, including Israel’s operations in Lebanon, according to the semiofficial Nour News and Tasnim agencies, which have close ties to Iran’s security apparatus.

Iranian officials said they were reviewing the U.S. response, though Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters Monday that changing demands made diplomacy difficult. He did not give details.

Iran has claimed its proposal does not include issues related to its nuclear program and enriched uranium — long a driving force in tensions with the U.S. and Israel.

Iran wants other issues resolved within 30 days and aims to end the war rather than extend the ceasefire. Trump expressed doubt over the weekend that the proposal would lead to a deal.

___Finley reported from Washington and Metz from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press journalists Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Fatma Khaled in Cairo; Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.