U.S. and Iran Exchange Fire Amid a Declared Truce

NY Times-May7th2026

Farnaz Fassihi Pranav Baskar Helene Cooper and Erica L. Green

Here’s the latest.

The United States said it attacked military sites in Iran on Thursday in retaliation for “unprovoked Iranian attacks,” amid a tenuous month-old cease-fire and officials’ statements that the two countries were discussing a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the American blockade on Iranian ports.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that Iranian missiles, drones and small boats had attacked three American destroyers in the strait, but that U.S. forces had “eliminated inbound threats.” The statement said that, in response, the U.S. military had “targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes.”

The Iranian military accused the United States of violating the cease-fire a day earlier by firing on an Iranian oil tanker that was heading toward the Strait of Hormuz. It said it had “retaliated by attacking U.S. military vessels” in the region.

President Trump confirmed in a social media post that the United States and Iran traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, saying that three “world class American destroyers,” had moved out of the strait “under fire” but were not damaged. He added that the U.S. military had “easily knocked down” missiles shot at U.S. boats and that drones “were incinerated while in the air.”

“They dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!” he said. He also called Iran’s leaders “LUNATICS” and threatened more strikes “if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!”

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 accusations, three Iranian officials said 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.

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

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.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

Lebanon: The Israeli military said on Thursday that it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs a day earlier, the first attack near the Lebanese capital since a U.S.-mediated cease-fire took effect last month. The attack risked further destabilizing the already tenuous truce. Read more ›