US, Iran no closer to ending war as Qatari tanker sails toward Strait of Hormuz
Written by: Idrees Ali, Erin Banco and Hatem Maher
WASHINGTON/CAIRO, May 9 (Reuters) – Relative calm prevailed around the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after days of flare-ups as the United States awaited a response to Iran’s latest overtures to end more than two months of fighting and begin peace talks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington expected a response within hours. But a day later there was no sign of movement from Tehran on the proposal to formally end the war before talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.
Rubio met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in Miami on Saturday and discussed the need to continue working together “to deter threats and promote stability and security in the Middle East,” U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
The statement did not specifically mention Iran.
A Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker was heading towards the strait for Pakistan on Saturday, according to LSEG shipping data. It was stated that this move was approved by Iran to build trust with Qatar and Pakistan, both mediators in the war.
If completed, this will be the first passage of a Qatari LNG ship through the strait since the start of the conflict.
With US President Donald Trump set to visit China next week, pressure is mounting to draw a line under the war that has roiled energy markets and posed a growing threat to the world economy.
Recent days have seen the biggest flare-up in fighting in and around the strait since a ceasefire began a month ago, with the United Arab Emirates coming under attack again on Friday.
CONFLICTS TESTED
Tehran has largely prevented non-Iranian ships from passing through the strait since the war began with US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28. Before the war, one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through the narrow waterway.
There were sporadic clashes between Iranian forces and US ships in the strait on Friday, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported. Tasnim news agency later quoted an Iranian military source as saying that the situation had calmed down but warned that new clashes were possible.
The US military said it hit two Iran-linked ships trying to enter an Iranian port, and a US warplane hit the funnels of these ships, forcing them to turn back.
The US imposed a blockade on Iranian ships last month. But according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, the CIA assessment showed that Iran would not face serious economic pressure for about four more months from the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports; That has raised questions about Trump’s influence over Tehran in a conflict unwelcome by voters and U.S. allies.
A senior intelligence official said the “claims” about the CIA analysis, first reported in the Washington Post, were false.
The fighting spilled beyond the waterway. The UAE said its air defenses engaged two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, leaving three people with moderate injuries.
Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host US military bases. In what the UAE described as 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 after 48 hours.
Trump said on Thursday that the ceasefire declared on April 7 continues despite the flare-ups, while Iran accused the United States of violating the ceasefire.
“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.
USA CONTINUES DIPLOMACY, INCREASES SANCTIONS
The United States found little international support in the conflict. 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 and warned that it could set a dangerous precedent if Tehran was allowed to control an international waterway.
Speaking in Stockholm, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that European countries share the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and are trying to bridge differences with Washington.
Britain, which is working with France on a proposal to ensure safe passage through the strait when the situation stabilizes, said on Saturday that it would deploy a warship to the Middle East in preparation for such a multinational mission.
While the US continued diplomacy, it also increased sanctions to put pressure on Iran.
Days before Trump travels to China to meet with President Xi Jinping, the U.S. Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies, including 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.
(Reporting by Reuters Newsrooms; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim and Nathan Layne; Editing by William Mallard, Alexandra Hudson, Rod Nickel, Sergio Non and Nick Zieminski)
