WASHINGTON / TEHRAN / BEIRUT: A US fighter jet destroyed two Iranian-flagged tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, triggering retaliatory attacks from Tehran and shaking a ceasefire as US President Donald Trump said he was awaiting Iran’s response to Washington’s latest proposal aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.
Iran accused the United States of violating the truce through the tanker strikes and undermining diplomatic efforts to end the war.
US Central Command said an F/A-18 Super Hornet carried out precision strikes on the two vessels in waters near the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route, to stop them from continuing toward Iran.
US President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington could revive its previously suspended “Project Freedom” operation if ongoing negotiations fail to produce a final agreement, warning that any renewed mission would be broader in scope.
“We’ll go a different route if everything doesn’t get signed up, buttoned up,” Trump told reporters, adding: “We may go back to Project Freedom if things don’t happen — but it’ll be Project Freedom Plus, meaning Project Freedom plus other things.”
.@POTUS on Project Freedom: “We’ll go a different route if everything doesn’t get signed up, buttoned up… We may go back to Project Freedom if things don’t happen — but it’ll be Project Freedom Plus, meaning Project Freedom plus other things.” pic.twitter.com/QpKc78vo6p
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 8, 2026
An Iranian military official told local media that Tehran’s navy had “responded to the violation of the ceasefire and to American ‘terrorism” with strikes, adding that “the clashes have now ceased.”
The latest confrontation followed another overnight flare-up in the Strait of Hormuz, whose strategic importance was highlighted by an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, who compared control of the waterway to possessing “an atomic bomb.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated Friday that it was “unacceptable” for Tehran to control the key maritime corridor.
Speaking in Rome, Rubio said Washington expected Iran’s response to the latest US proposal later in the day and expressed hope it would be “a serious offer.”
Trump later told reporters at the White House: “I’m getting a letter supposedly tonight, so we’ll see how that goes.”
According to diplomatic sources, Washington sent Iran a proposal through Pakistani mediators seeking an extension of the Gulf truce to allow negotiations toward a final settlement of the conflict that began 10 weeks ago following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the proposal remained “under review,” according to the ISNA news agency.
Oil spill fears near Kharg Island
Iran’s UN envoy Amir Saeed Irvani accused the United States of breaching the ceasefire through the tanker strikes in a letter addressed to the UN secretary-general and the Security Council.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met US Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Friday to discuss Pakistani-led mediation efforts aimed at securing a permanent peace agreement.
Iran has repeatedly targeted sites in Qatar during the conflict, citing the Gulf state’s hosting of a major US military base.
Separately, satellite imagery indicated a growing oil slick off Iran’s Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export hub in the Gulf.
Global monitoring firm Orbital EOS said the spill appeared to cover more than 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) near the island’s western coast, though the cause remained unclear.
Kharg Island plays a central role in Iran’s oil exports and lies north of the narrow Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global energy supplies.
After the US-Israel strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, Iran largely closed the strait, roiling international energy markets and pushing oil prices higher. Washington later responded with its own blockade targeting Iranian ports.
Trump had announced a US naval operation on Sunday to reopen the strait for commercial shipping, but abandoned the plan on Tuesday in favor of renewed negotiations.
Hezbollah launches missiles, drones at Israel
On the Lebanon front, Hezbollah said it launched missiles Friday toward an Israeli military base south of the city of Nahariya in response to Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon.
Hours later, the Iran-backed group announced a drone attack targeting another military site in northern Israel.
Israel has continued operations against Hezbollah despite an existing ceasefire arrangement.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces struck Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in a month, saying the attack killed a senior Hezbollah commander.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed 10 people on Friday, including women and children, while Lebanon’s civil defense said one of its members was also killed.
The renewed violence comes ahead of planned direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Washington next week.
