Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said two U.S. commercial ships and two Navy destroyers sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, embarrassing Iranians who claimed the key waterway was closed and demonstrating it is safe to pass while a blockade of Tehran’s ports continues.
The crossings on Monday, May 4, in the key waterway for 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas came amid a fragile ceasefire. The U.S. military sank six Iranian boats targeting commercial vessels under the mission Project Freedom. Iran also launched missile and drone strikes on the United Arab Emirates, sparking a blaze at an oil facility and leaving three people injured.
“We’re not looking for a fight, but Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway,” Hegseth told reporters Tuesday, May 5. “Iran’s plan, a form of international extortion, is unacceptable.”
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iranians shouldn’t mistake the lack of larger-scale military response to the attacks as a lack of resolve. Later on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected any suggestion that the United States naval blockade on Iran is “an act of war.”
Hegseth said Project Freedom to defend commercial ships from Iranian attacks would be temporary, in preparation for other countries to defend the shipping lane. The average price for a gallon of gas across the United States on Tuesday morning was near $4.49, according to GasBuddy.
Leaders from Canada to Saudi Arabia have called on Iran to deescalate and urged warring parties to return to negotiating a peace deal.
Joey Garrison
Ten civilian sailors have died from attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a Tuesday briefing with reporters at the White House, as the Trump administration seeks to pressure Iran to reopen the critical waterway.
“They’re sitting ducks,” Rubio said of Iran. “They’re isolated. They’re starving. They’re vulnerable. And at least 10 sailors have already died ‒ civilian sailors.”
Rubio did not specify the nationality of the deceased sailors. His remarks came as U.S. military officials confirmed they sank six Iranian small boats and the United Arab Emirates reported coming under attack from Iranian missiles and drones.
Bart Jansen
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a U.S. resolution will give the United Nations another chance to take a stand against Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and that if the effort fails, it could reveal the global body as ineffective.
“I think it’s a real test for the UN, as something that functions that can solve global problems,” Rubio said. “I don’t know if people appreciate how outrageous this is.”
A similar resolution last month was vetoed by China and Russia. Rubio said there are slight adjustments to the language, but the U.S. is not asking for other countries to send troops to the Middle East. The resolution seeks to condemn Iran for firing at commercial ships and to halt mining the strait, which he said by itself is against international law, and to allow humanitarian aid to come through.
“If you’re telling me that the international community and hundreds of countries cannot rally behind that, I don’t what the utility of the UN system is, if it can’t solve something as straightforward as that,” Rubio said.
Joey Garrison
Rubio, making a rare appearance Tuesday at a White House press briefing, countered concerns about higher gas prices during the war in Iran by arguing the alternative would be worse.
Rubio said gas prices in the United States have not increased at the same level as other countries, arguing the U.S. is “more insulated” than others from oil exports blocked at the Strait of Hormuz.
Although he acknowledged “that’s not welcome news to Americans that are paying more at the pump,” Rubio said gas prices would be even higher if Iran has a nuclear weapon.
“Think about it this way,” Rubio said. “If Iran had a nuclear weapon, and they decided to close the straits and make our gas prices like $9 or $8 a gallon, we wouldn’t be able to do anything about it because they have a nuclear weapon, and a nuclear-armed Iran could do whatever they want with the straits.”
Bart Jansen
Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed continued Israeli strikes into Lebanon as a response to attacks from Hezbollah.
“By and large, I think a peace deal between Israel and Lebanon is imminently achievable. And it should be,” Rubio told reporters at the White House. He blamed Hezbollah for Israeli strikes because “they terrorize and attack Israelis, but they are also inflicting terrible damage on the Lebanese people.”
Rubio said the goal in talks the United States is mediating is to have Lebanon become strong enough to challenge and disarm Hezbollah.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Rubio said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that both sides conteinue to talk so that progress can be made on some sort of permanent ceasefire that isn’t constantly spoiled by Hezbollah and Hezbollah violence.”
Joey Garrison
Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected any suggestion that the United States naval blockade on Iran is “an act of war.”
Rubio, addressing reporters at a White House press briefing, said the Trump administration ordered the blockade of Iranian ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz because Iran shut down the strait to other nations’ vessels.
“If everyone’s ships are not getting out, your ships are not getting out either,” Rubio said. “That’s not an act of war. That’s a defensive mechanism.”
Trump has hailed the blockade as a major success, yet both the U.S. and Iran have made competing claims of control over the waterway.
Bart Jansen
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “the time has come” for Iran’s leadership to make “a sensible choice” to end the U.S.-Israeli war, but that they have been unreliable in talks so far.
“They’re insane in the brain,” Rubio said. “There is a real diplomatic path.”
Joey Garrison
The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed a resolution to the United Nations Security Council that looks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and require Iran to cease attacks, mining and tolling along the waterway.
The draft resolution, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would also call for Iran to identity sea mines along the strait, cooperate with efforts to remove them, and support a humanitarian corridor.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to hold the world’s economy hostage with its efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz, threats to attack ships in the Strait, laying of sea mines that pose a danger to shipping, and attempts to charge tolls for the world’s most important waterway,” Rubio said in a statement.
The appeal to the UN comes after Trump officials announced a maritime initiative called “Project Freedom” that seeks to unilaterally reopen the strait, which is critical to transport oil in the Middle East.
At the direction of President Donald Trump, the U.S. drafted the resolution with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar. An earlier Bahraini UN Security Council resolution ‒ backed by the U.S. ‒ sought to protect commercial shipping in the straight failed in April after Russia and China blocked it.
Contributing: Reuters
Bart Jansen
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Project Freedom, the U.S. mission to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks, aims to rescue about 23,000 civilians from 87 countries who are trapped aboard ships bottled up in the Arabian Gulf.
“They’re at the mercy of this piracy,” Rubio said.
Rubio said ships risk running out of food and potable water if Iran’s threats against shipping continue.
“It’s not just criminal,” Rubio said. “It’s criminal for sure but it’s desperate and destructive, this blockade of the Straits of Hormuz.”
Joey Garrison
Trump called rising gas prices for Americans a small price for what he’s hailed as a wildly successful military campaign in Iran.
“That’s a very small price to pay for getting rid of a nuclear weapon from people that are really mentally deranged,” Trump said.
His remarks Tuesday to reporters in the Oval Office came as the average price for a gallon of regulated gasoline increased in the United States to $4.483, the highest level since July 2022. Gas prices are up 30 cents from last week and up $1.318 from a year ago.
Oil prices have increased significantly since the start of the war in Iran, though it dropped Tuesday to about $111 a barrel, according to Brent Crude.
Trump said he believes his administration’s efforts to unilaterally reopen the Strait of Hormuz for vessels, through an effort called “Project Freedom,” will help bring costs down. He likened the strait to the “Long Island Expressway for ships.”
“Some of these tankers hold 2 million barrels,” Trump said. “It has a big impact.
Joey Garrison
Trump reiterated on Tuesday that he believes Iran wants to make a deal with the United States despite new attacks from Iran on the United Arab Emirates and heightened tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.
“I can say this: Iran wants to make a deal,” Trump said to reporter in the Oval Office, but later criticizing Iranian leaders for telling him one thing in private but then another in public.
“What I don’t like about Iran is they’ll talk to me with such great respect, and then they’ll go on television, they’ll say, ‘We did not speak to the president..'” Trump said.
Bart Jansen
Trump said he expects to talk with China’s President Xi Jinping about Iran when he visits May 14 and 15, but that there hasn’t been a conflict between the two countries over the U.S.-Israeli war on Tehran.
China depends on oil that travels through the Strait of Hormuz for 60% of its oil. Despite Iran halting nearly all traffic through the strait, Trump said Xi hasn’t complained.
“He’s been very nice about all this,” Trump said. “I think he’s been very respectful.”
Bart Jansen
After Iran fired on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. sank six small attack boats, Trump refused to say May 5 what it would take to violate the ceasefire.
“You’ll find out because I’ll let you know,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “They know what to do and what not to do.”
Bart Jansen
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the small Iranian boats that the Navy has destroyed were carrying only small weapons but were taken seriously as a threat.
“Any threat needs to be taken seriously,” Hegseth said “We’re not going to let a threat to gather.”
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the 82nd Airborne Division, an Army unit known as the U.S. military’s quick response force made up of paratroopers, was playing a major role in “Project Freedom,” the military’s effort to free up traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The division has the capabilities for “counter insurgency to counter terrorism to power projection,” Caine said. They use AI for intelligence and operations, he said.
Bart Jansen
Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships in trying to close the Strait of Hormuz.
But those attacks fell short of the need to restart broad U.S. military strikes on Iran.
About 22,500 mariners aboard 1,550 commercial ships are trapped in the Arabian Gulf because of the threat from Iran, Caine said.
“We anticipate more to transit over the coming days,” Caine said, after two U.S. commercial ships passed through the strait.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told reporters at a May 5 news briefing that the U.S. military’s effort to deter Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and open the flow of traffic through the key channel is a “temporary mission.”
“Iran is the clear aggressor,” he said.
“As a direct gift from the United States to the world, we have established a powerful red, white and blue dome over the Strait,” Hegseth said.
The effort, which the U.S. military has dubbed “Project Freedom,” will not see American forces enter Iranian waters or airspace, he said.
“It’s not necessary. We’re not looking for a fight,” Hegseth added.
Bart Jansen
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said two U.S. commercial ships have transited the Strait of Hormuz under the protection of Navy ships from Iran’s threat of attacks, which he called “a form of international extortion.”
“We’re not looking for a fight,” Hegseth said. “We prefer this was a peaceful operation.”
He said the military mission called Project Freedom is temporary.
“We expect the world to step up,” Hegseth said.
Bart Jansen
South Korea is reviewing the U.S. plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping after an explosion and fire on the HMM Namu.
The ship was at anchor and empty when the incident occurred. South Korea’s foreign minister said whether the explosion was the result of an Iranian attack, the cause of the incident could only be determined after the ship was towed back to port.
The “safety of international maritime routes and freedom of navigation should be protected under international law,” said Choi Soung-ah, a presidential secretary.
The incident occurred as the U.S. Navy blockaded Iran’s ports, and Iran has threatened vessels traveling through the strait. The U.S. military said on Monday that it destroyed six Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones under “Project Freedom” to protect ships in the strait.
But Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi called Project Freedom a “deadlock” in a social media post on Monday and said the U.S. should be wary of a “quagmire.”
Bart Jansen
Secretary of State Marco Rubio expects a “frank” meeting with Pope Leo XIV after President Donald Trump resumed his criticism of the pontiff in their dispute about the necessity of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, according to the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.
Leo has opposed the war and called for peace. But Trump has insisted the war was necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The ambassador, Brian Burch, said the way to work through disagreements is “through fraternity and authentic dialogue.”
“I think the secretary is coming here in that spirit,” Burch told reporters. “To have a frank conversation about U.S. policy, to engage in dialogue.”
In his latest comments, Trump told right-wing radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt that “the Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good.”
Rubio is scheduled to speak to reporters at the White House at 3 p.m. ET.
Michael Loria
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, warned Monday that escalating tensions at sea risk dragging the United States into a “quagmire.”
“Events in Hormuz make clear that there’s no military solution to a political crisis,” Araghchi said in a statement at around 1 a.m. in Tehran. “The U.S. should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers. So should the UAE.”
The foreign minister’s statement comes hours after U.S. military officials confirmed they sank six Iranian small boats and the United Arab Emirates reported coming under attack from Iranian missiles and drones.
At issue is the Strait of Hormuz, which both sides are vying to control.
Araghchi indicated there’s still hope for a diplomatic solution, saying “talks are making progress with Pakistan’s gracious effort.”
Michael Loria
World leaders from Canada to Saudi Arabia slammed Iran’s attacks on the United Arab Emirates on Monday, calling on the war’s participants to return to the negotiating table.
“Today’s Iranian strikes against Emirati civilian infrastructure are unjustified and unacceptable,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country “strongly condemns Iran’s unprovoked missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates.”
The strong condemnation comes as the ceasefire appears more fragile than ever.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s concern regarding the current military escalation in the region,” officials said in a translated post on X, adding that the conflict “calls for the necessity of de-escalation, refraining from further escalation, exercising restraint, and supporting the Pakistani mediation and diplomatic efforts to reach a political solution that prevents the region from sliding into further tension.”