A cease-fire between the United States and Iran that had teetered for nearly a month is effectively unraveling, and the drumbeat of war is again spreading across the Middle East.
On the 4th, the United States launched Operation "Project Freedom" in earnest to help about 2,000 merchant ships detained in the Strait of Hormuz exit safely. In response, Iran carried out indiscriminate attacks on U.S. warships and merchant vessels, and as U.S. forces struck back, military clashes between the two countries reignited.
According to a compilation of major media reports on the 5th, including Reuters, The Washington Post (WP) and AP, Iran on the 4th (local time) fired drones and cruise missiles in succession at a U.S. destroyer and merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fast boats approached merchant ships threateningly, U.S. Army Apache helicopters and Navy Seahawk helicopters returned fire immediately and sank six Iranian fast boats.
U.S. Central Command chief Brad Cooper said at a news briefing that day, "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at the ships we are protecting," adding, "We employed defensive munitions with clinical precision to defeat all of these threats."
In the process, a Korea HMM cargo ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz came under external attack, damaging parts of the hull including the engine room. U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 4th on the social media platform Truth Social, "It is perhaps time for Korea to join the mission," adding, "We shot down seven Iranian small boats and that is all Iran has left. Except for the Korean vessel, there has been no damage while transiting the strait at present." Trump further warned of a strong military retaliation in a Fox News interview, saying that if Iran targets U.S. ships, it would "be gone from the face of the Earth."
Claiming control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran also resumed the use of force toward nearby Arab countries. The United Arab Emirates Ministry of National Defense said on the 4th that it detected four cruise missiles coming from Iran, intercepted three and that the remaining one fell into the sea. An ADNOC tanker belonging to the UAE was also targeted by two Iranian drones while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Oman's state media, an unknown type of attack occurred in a residential area of Bukha, a coastal city on Oman's Musandam Peninsula adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, injuring two foreign workers. Military provocations against Gulf states, which had halted after a cease-fire agreement in early last month, appear to be ramping up again.
For Operation Project Freedom, the United States deployed a large force in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including 15,000 troops, Navy destroyers and more than 100 aircraft. Based on this, U.S. Central Command announced on the 4th that two U.S.-flagged merchant ships safely transited the strait, opening the sea lane. The U.S. government also said it would push ahead with a breakthrough operation to stabilize soaring global oil prices caused by the strait's blockade. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News, "We have absolute control over the strait," adding, "If Iran wants to escalate, we will willingly escalate as well," ratcheting up the pressure. Bessent said that once the detained tankers begin exiting the strait, "oil prices will fall rapidly in a few weeks or within a month."
However, with full-scale armed clashes between the two sides resuming, tensions in the Middle East are expected to remain at a peak for the time being. Iran's military strongly pushed back, saying foreign forces entering the Strait of Hormuz without its permission would become immediate targets. Israel has also convened a recent security meeting and is ready to resume a bombing campaign against Iran. Pakistan, which had been mediating peace talks, is seeking a diplomatic solution by assisting with the repatriation to Iran of 22 crew members from an Iranian vessel seized by the United States. But given the vast gap between the two countries over a second end-of-war agreement and the deepening military standoff, the prospect of talks resuming immediately appears slim.