US And Iran Exchange Fire In Hormuz, But Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

US President Donald Trump has said that a ceasefire is still in place between the US and Iran after both sides exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz late on Thursday night

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th May, 2026) US President Donald Trump has said that a ceasefire is still in place between the US and Iran after both sides exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz late on Thursday night.

According to Iran's top military command , the US had targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another vessel approaching the Strait and carried out "aerial attacks" on several coastal areas.

The US, meanwhile, said it responded to Iranian attacks on US Navy guided-missile destroyers in the Strait with "self-defence strikes". Trump said Iran "trifled with us today".

The renewed hostilities broke out as Washington was awaiting Iran's response to a U.S. proposal that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues, such as Iran's nuclear programme, unresolved for now.

The back-and-forth came as explosions shook Iran’s Qeshm Island and the city of Bandar Abbas, shipping centers on the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the country’s capital, Tehran, according to Iranian news media and citizens posting on social media. Iran’s armed forces said that the United States and “its supporting countries” were responsible and that the strikes had come after exchanges of fire between U.S. and Iranian vessels in or near the Persian Gulf.

The escalating attacks raised the threat that the cease-fire, already strained by attacks on ships and on the United Arab Emirates, could break down completely.

A spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps wrote on social media that “the United States has violated the cease-fire.”

Hours before Iran’s assertions, three Iranian officials told The New York Times that the two countries were debating a one-page proposal for the United States to lift its blockade on Iranian ships and ports, for Iran to open the strait to unimpeded commercial traffic and to end the fighting for 30 days while negotiators try to reach a comprehensive peace settlement. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. U.S. officials did not respond to requests for comment, according to the Times.

The key stumbling block to an initial agreement is what to do about Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the Iranians were quoted as saying.

Business leaders, consumers, politicians, shipping companies and many others around the world were watching closely for signs of a breakthrough. The conflict, which has dragged on into a third month and has prompted Iran and the United States to put in place dueling blockades around the Strait of Hormuz, has choked off the major oil transit route, wreaking havoc on global supply chains and causing energy prices to spike.

APP/ift