The Strait of Hormuz

May 9, 2026 9:43 AM

Tehran could withstand blockade for four months, CIA report shows, as fighting flares

Efforts to end the war between the U.S. and Iran appeared to stall as the two sides traded fire in the Gulf on Friday, while a U.S. intelligence analysis concluded Tehran could withstand a naval blockade for months. A CIA assessment indicated that Iran would not suffer severe economic pressure from a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports for about another four months, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, suggesting that U.S. leverage over Tehran remains limited as the two sides seek ...

May 8, 2026 3:11 PM

World food prices rise to more than three year high in April, FAO says

World food prices climbed in April to their highest in more than three years, with vegetable oils particularly elevated due to the Iran war and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday. FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero said vegetable oil prices are being driven by elevated energy costs that are in turn raising demand for biofuels made using organic materials, such as oil-rich plants. He added, however, that despi...

May 8, 2026 10:25 AM

Southeast Asian leaders seek strategy to ease impacts of Iran war

Leaders of Southeast Asian countries holding a summit on Friday are expected to thrash out a coordinated response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis, as they aim to ease pressure from an energy shock that has rattled their oil import-reliant economies. Meeting on the Philippine island of Cebu, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to press for a harmonised strategy to ensure energy and food security in a region particularly exposed to a nearly 70-day blockade ...

May 8, 2026 9:19 AM

UAE countering Iranian air attack after Trump says ceasefire still in effect

U.S. ally the United Arab Emirates said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats from Iran early on Friday in a further test of the shaky, month-long ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. There were few details immediately available about the latest attack on the UAE, which came a day after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire around the Strait of Hormuz, and as Washington awaited a response from Tehran to its proposal to end the conflict. Iran has often targeted the UAE and other Gu...

May 6, 2026 2:38 PM

Iran says it seeks ‘fair’ deal after Trump pauses naval mission to open strait

Iran said on Wednesday it would accept a peace deal only if it was "fair", after U.S. President Donald Trump paused a three-day-old naval mission tasked with reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had shaken the war's month-old ceasefire. Trump's "Project Freedom", announced on Sunday, had failed to bring about any significant resumption of traffic through the waterway, while provoking a new wave of Iranian strikes on ships in the strait and on targets in neighbouring countries. In the latest inc...

May 6, 2026 10:23 AM

Rubio calls Hormuz resolution test for UN, urges against vetoes

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday called a U.S.-proposed U.N. resolution demanding Iran stop attacks and laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz a test of the utility of the United Nations and urged China and Russia not to repeat vetoes. U.N. Security Council members began closed talks on Tuesday on a text the U.S. drafted with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar, which, if it were to pass, could lead to sanctions against Iran, and potentially authorize ...

May 6, 2026 9:35 AM

Chinese foreign minister kicks off meeting with Iranian counterpart

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi in Beijing on Wednesday, state news agency Xinhua said. Araqchi's one-day trip comes a week ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's scheduled visit to Beijing for a summit with President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15. Earlier this week, the U.S. and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf as they wrestled for control over the Strait of Hormuz with duelling maritime blockades, threatening what was already ...

May 6, 2026 9:27 AM

Trump pauses effort to escort ships in Strait of Hormuz, citing deal progress

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing "great progress" toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran. Hours earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had outlined the effort that began on Monday to escort stranded tankers out of the Gulf. The strait has been virtually shut since the conflict began, blocking some 20% of world oil supplies and igniting a global energy crisis. "We have mutually agr...

May 5, 2026 9:23 AM

US says it sinks Iranian small boats, shoots down missiles, drones as it opens Strait

The U.S. military said on Monday it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as Tehran sought to thwart a new U.S. naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump launched the operation, called Project Freedom, on Monday as he sought to wrest control of the critical waterway from Iran, which effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel started the conflict on February 28. U.S. Admiral Brad ...

May 4, 2026 4:37 PM

Iran says it turns back US warship from Strait of Hormuz, US official denies missile strike

Iran said it had forced a U.S. warship to turn back from entering the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, but a U.S. official denied a report that it had been struck by Iranian missiles, according to an Axios journalist. Iran's navy said it had prevented "American-Zionist" warships entering the Strait of Hormuz area by issuing a "swift and decisive warning". Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said two missiles had hit the warship near the port of Jask at the southern entrance to the strait, where I...