US-Iran Truce Under Strain as Gulf Clashes Escalate Again

According to a US official familiar with the matter, the CIA assessment indicated that Iran would not be subject to serious economic pressure from the US blockade of Iranian ports for approximately four months; This suggests that US influence on Tehran remains limited as the two sides seek to end a conflict unpopular with US voters.

The Washington Post first reported the assessment.

A senior intelligence official called “claims” about the CIA analysis “false,” saying the blockade “inflicted real, even greater harm, cutting off trade, crushing revenues and accelerating systemic economic collapse.”

Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the ceasefire began a month ago, with the United Arab Emirates coming under attack again on Friday.

Washington is awaiting Tehran’s response to a US proposal to formally end the war before talks on more controversial issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.

“We need to know something today,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Rome earlier in the day. “We are waiting for a response from them.”

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said Tehran was still weighing its response and that no response had been reported in Washington in the afternoon, just before midnight in Tehran.

Occasional CONFLICTS IN THE THROAT

Meanwhile, sporadic clashes occurred between Iranian forces and US ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported. Tasnim news agency later quoted an Iranian military source as saying the situation had calmed down but warned that further clashes were possible.

The US military said that two Iranian-linked ships trying to enter the Iranian port were hit, and a US warplane hit the funnels of these ships and forced them to turn back.

Iran has largely prevented non-Iranian ships from passing through the strait since the war began with joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28. The US imposed a blockade on Iranian ships last month.

Oil prices rose, with Brent crude futures rising above $101 per barrel, but still down more than 6% for the week.

Trump said on Thursday that the ceasefire still holds despite flare-ups in the strait, which supplied one-fifth of the world’s oil supply before the war.

The conflict extended beyond the waterway. The United Arab Emirates said its air defenses fired on two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, injuring three people slightly.

During the war, Iran repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host US military bases. In what the UAE called a “major escalation”, Iran stepped up its attacks this week in response to Trump’s “Project Freedom” announcement to escort ships in the strait, which he paused 48 hours later.

IRAN ACCUSES US OF VIOLATING THE ceasefire

Iran has accused the United States of violating a ceasefire that has remained largely valid since it was declared on April 7 but remains under pressure this week.

“Whenever a diplomatic solution is on the table, the United States prefers a reckless military adventure,” Foreign Minister Abbas ⁠Araqchi said on Friday. he said. Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that one crew member was killed, 10 were injured and four were missing following a US Navy attack on an Iranian merchant ship late Thursday.

After meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Rubio questioned why Italy and other allies did not support Washington’s efforts to reopen the strait.

“Are you going to normalize a country that claims to control an international waterway? Because if you normalize that, you’re setting a precedent that will be repeated in a dozen other places,” he said.

USA WILL IMPLEMENT SANCTIONS

While the US continued diplomacy, it also increased sanctions to put pressure on Iran.

The U.S. Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies, including those in China and Hong Kong, for aiding the Iranian military’s efforts to secure weapons and raw materials used to build Tehran’s Shahed drones.

The Treasury said in a statement that it was ready to take economic action against Iran’s military industrial base, so that Tehran could not rebuild its production capacity and project power abroad.

He also said he was ready to take action against any foreign company supporting Iran’s illicit trade and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions, including those linked to China’s independent “teapot” oil refineries.

The announcement came days before Trump plans to travel to China to meet with President Xi Jinping.