U.S. military announces neutralization of two Iranian ships that tried to break the blockade

On Friday, May 8, 2026, the U.S. military targeted  two empty Iranian-flagged oil tankers that it said were trying to violate the U.S. blockade, the U.S. military's Central Command said in a statement, adding that a third Iranian-flagged tanker was able to be disabled on Wednesday.

 "None of the three ships are on their way to Iran," it added, adding that sporadic clashes took place between the Iranian armed forces and US ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, without elaborating.

In a subsequent development, Iranian media reported that intermittent clashes in the Strait of Hormuz between the Iranian army and US forces have stopped, with the possibility of their renewal.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the clashes have now stopped in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that Iran's armed forces will respond if US Navy ships try to enter the Gulf or "harass" Iranian ships, leaving the possibility of a resumption of clashes.

Iran detains foreign oil tanker

Iran's military has detained a foreign oil tanker named "Ocean Koi" after accusing it of "exploiting regional conditions to harm Iran's oil exports", the state-run IRNA news agency  reported.

The agency added that Iranian navy commandos carried out the operation to control the tanker and direct it to the southern coast of the country.

Iranian authorities did not disclose further details about the location or timing of the operation, while videos published by local media showed Iranian troops boarding the tanker in speedboats during the night hours.

Iran: Negotiations with Washington under review

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that the ongoing negotiations with the United States are still under review.

This came in a statement to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency on Friday, regarding the latest developments in the negotiations between Washington and Tehran, Baghaei added: "The reviews are underway and we will announce the result as soon as we reach it," stressing at the same time that the Iranian military is "ready to respond to any possible attack against its country."

On the other hand, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in remarks from the Italian capital Rome, said that Washington is still waiting for an Iranian response on the talks, adding that the response "has not yet arrived."

Rubio criticized  the positions of some European countries, saying, "Some European countries did not allow us to use NATO bases in important emergencies, and they obstructed our missions."

On Thursday, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi told a news conference that Islamabad was "optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement between the United States and Iran, and expects it to happen soon," adding that he could not comment on whether the draft agreement would be on one page or more.

Axios also quoted unidentified US officials as saying that Iran and the United States are "close" to signing a memorandum of understanding to end the state of war between the two sides.