Tensions erupt in Strait of Hormuz as Iran opens fire on US warships, US sinks Iranian boats in retaliation

Iranian forces opened fire on U.S. warships in the Middle East May 4, prompting American forces to sink multiple Iranian vessels in response, according to Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command. The clash came shortly after President Donald Trump announced a new initiative, dubbed “Project Freedom,” to escort stranded commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Cooper told reporters during a May 4 call that U.S. forces intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones targeting U.S. commercial and military vessels in the crucial waterway, which has been effectively choked off in recent weeks, according to The Hill. He said the U.S. “destroyed six Iranian small boats that attempted to interfere,” adding that Iranian vessels were “strongly advised to remain clear of U.S. military assets” in the region.

Trump said in a Truth Social post later in the day that U.S. forces had destroyed seven Iranian boats.

Iran strikes down South Korean vessel in Strait of Hormuz, Trump says

Trump said in an afternoon Truth Social post that Iran has “taken some shots at unrelated nations” in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging a South Korean cargo ship. 

“Perhaps it's time for South Korea to come and join the mission!” Trump said. “We've shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, ‘fast’ Boats. It's all they have left. Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait.”

Iran launches missiles at UAE in first strike since ceasefire

Earlier on May 4, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Iran launched four missiles at its territory, marking the first reported attacks from Tehran since the U.S.-Iran ceasefire took effect April 8. 

The UAE Ministry of Defense said in an X post that three Iranian cruise missiles were “successfully handled over the country’s territorial waters,” while a fourth landed in the sea. The ministry later said in another post that the UAE’s air defenses “engaged 12 ballistic missiles, 3 cruise missiles, and 4 drones originating from Iran.”

US denies Iranian claim it struck American warship

Earlier in the day, U.S. Central Command dismissed a claim from Iranian state media that a U.S. warship had been hit by Iranian missiles.

“CLAIM: Iranian state media claims that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles,” the military said in an X post early May 4. “TRUTH: No U.S. Navy ships have been struck. U.S. forces are supporting Project Freedom and enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports.”

Iran’s Tasnim news agency, a semiofficial outlet linked to the guard corps, posted a statement on X attributed to the country’s armed forces. 

According to The Hill, the post said, “With the decisive and swift warning from the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the entry of enemy American Zionist destroyers into the Strait of Hormuz area was prevented.”

Clashes follow Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ announcement to reopen Strait of Hormuz

The clashes erupted hours after Trump said in a May 3 Truth Social post that the U.S. would begin “Project Freedom” in the Strait of Hormuz on the morning of May 5 local time.

“Countries from all over the World, almost all of which are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute going on so visibly, and violently, for all to see, have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz, on something which they have absolutely nothing to do with,” he wrote. “They are merely neutral and innocent bystanders!” 

Trump said the U.S. would guide those ships “safely out of these restricted Waterways” so they could “freely and ably get on with their business,” adding the move was for “the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States.” 

Iran quickly pushed back. In a May 4 message shared by Iranian state media, Brigadier General Mohbi, a spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned Tehran would not allow unapproved movement through the strait.

He said any vessel trying to transit the strait without adhering to the regime’s “transit protocols,” which require coordination along designated routes, would “face serious risks.”

“Violating vessels will be stopped with force,” Mohbi said. 

Shortly after the warning, U.S. Central Command said the U.S. Navy had guided two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels through the strait. The ships “are safely headed on their journey,” the military said in a social media post. 

Iran’s state-run news outlets later claimed the U.S. military’s report was “baseless and entirely false.” 

According to CBS News, IRIB state TV said in a statement it attributed to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, “No commercial vessels or oil tankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent hours.”