Live updates: Follow the latest news on Iran war
A US Navy fighter jet attacked and "disabled" two unladen Iran-flagged oil tankers attempting to reach Iranian ports on Friday as Washington awaits Tehran's response to its proposal for ending the war.
There was no immediate response from Iran's leaders, but state-affiliated media quoted a military official as saying the US Navy would be met with "decisive force" if it "causes trouble" for Iranian vessels again.
The Tasnim news agency reported that the situation was "calm now" but that there was a possibility of renewed clashes.
The US military’s Central Command said an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the USS George H W Bush aircraft carrier disabled the MT Sea Star III and MT Sevda by “firing precision munitions into their smokestacks”.
The attacks came two days after a fighter jet from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln disabled another Iranian-flagged unladen tanker by firing several rounds from a 20mm cannon at its rudder.
"US forces in the Middle East remain committed to full enforcement of the blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iran," Centcom chief Adm Brad Cooper said.
Centcom said earlier on Friday that US forces were preventing more than 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports. They had a combined capacity to transport more than 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth more than $13 billion, it said.
The US blockade aims to increase pressure on Tehran to return to negotiations amid a ceasefire that has largely held since it was announced on April 8, ending six weeks of heavy American and Israeli bombardment and retaliatory Iranian drone and missile attacks on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during a visit to Italy that Iran's response to Washington's latest peace proposal was expected on Friday.
“We’ll see what the response entails. The hope is it’s something that can put us into a serious process of negotiation,” he said.
The 14-point proposal reportedly calls for Iran to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, enforced since the start of the war, and for the US to end its blockade of Iranian ports for 30 days while both sides discuss terms for a permanent ceasefire.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday accused the US of trying to undermine a negotiated end to the war.
"Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the US opts for a reckless military adventure," he wrote on X.
He questioned whether this was "a crude pressure tactic" or the result of someone "once again duping [US President Donald Trump] into another quagmire".
His comments followed an exchange of fire on Thursday after the US said it attacked Qeshm Island off Iran's coast and the port city of Bandar Abbas after intercepting missile, drone and small boat attacks on three of its warships as they passed through the strait on their way out of the Arabian Gulf.
Tensions in the region have been high since Monday, when the US military began implementing "Project Freedom", a plan announced by Mr Trump a day earlier to escort commercial ships trapped in the Gulf by the war through the Strait of Hormuz. This was followed by attacks on several ships and an Iranian missile and drone attack on the UAE, which has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks on Gulf states.
The UAE Ministry of Defence said Iran launched two ballistic missiles and three drones in a fresh attack on Friday, injuring three people.
