DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A tenuous ceasefire appeared to be holding Saturday after the United States struck two Iranian oil tankers, while the country that hosts the U.S. Navy’s regional headquarters said it arrested dozens of people it alleged were linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Attacks Friday cast doubt on the month-old ceasefire that the United States has insisted is still in effect. Washington is awaiting an Iranian response to its latest proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and roll back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. The U.S. military said Friday that its forces had disabled two Iranian tankers that were trying to breach an American blockade of Iran’s ports. Hours earlier, the military said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships and struck Iranian military facilities in the strait. Meanwhile, in the small Gulf island of Bahrain, the nation's Ministry of Interior said Saturday it had arrested 41 people it alleges are part of a group affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. It said investigations are ongoing to take further action against anyone affiliated with the group but did not provide further details. Bahrain is led by a Sunni Muslim monarchy but, like Iran, its population is majority Shiite. Rights groups have said that the kingdom has used the war between Iran and the U.S., which bases its Fifth Fleet in the country, as an excuse to crack down on dissent at home. US says it responded to an attack in the Strait of Hormuz Iran has mostly blocked the critical waterway for global energy since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, causing a global spike in fuel prices and rattling world markets. The U.S. has imposed its own blockade of Iran’s ports. The U.S. military posted video of the two Iranian tankers as their smokestacks were struck by an American fighter jet on Friday. Earlier in the week, an American military jet shot out the rudder of a tanker the U.S. military said was attempting to breach its blockade. A U.S. strike overnight killed at least one sailor and injured 10 others aboard a cargo vessel that caught fire, a news agency affiliated with Iran's judiciary reported. It was not clear if the ship was one of the two tankers the U.S. acknowledged striking. Despite the attacks, U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted the ceasefire is holding. He also has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran doesn’t accept an agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program. On Friday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the country was not paying attention to “deadlines” and Tehran continues reviewing a U.S. proposal related to ongoing negotiations, according to state-run IRNA. A top Iranian official also said Friday that the country's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was in “complete health" and that he would eventually appear in public. The comments were made by Mazaher Hosseini, who is affiliated with the office of Iran’s former Supreme Leader, at a pro-government gathering. Hosseini said Mojtaba had suffered knee and back injuries but that they’ve largely healed and he’s now in good condition. Khamenei hasn't been seen in public since the war began and the continued absence of verified images, audio, or video of him has fueled speculation about his status. Remarks such as Hosseini's are seen by some as attempts to counter doubts that he may no longer be alive. Britain deploys warship to the Middle East Britain’s defense ministry said it was deploying a warship to the Middle East to join a potential mission to protect commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The ministry said the destroyer HMS Dragon will “pre-position” in the region, ready to join a U.K.- and French-led security plan once hostilities end. France also announced this week it was moving its aircraft carrier strike group into the Red Sea in preparation for a potential mission in the strait. Britain and France have led planning meetings involving several dozen countries on a coalition to reestablish freedom of navigation in the strait. But they stress it won’t start until there is a sustainable ceasefire and the maritime industry is reassured ships can go through the strait safely. Images show apparent oil slick off Iranian terminal Satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press show what appears to be an oil slick in the Persian Gulf emanating from the western side of Kharg Island, Iran’s main crude export terminal. Images taken Friday show the slick covering about 71 square kilometers (27 square miles) and appear to show oil still leaking from the terminal, said Ami Daniel, CEO of maritime intelligence firm Windward AI. Daniel estimated that the equivalent of roughly 80,000 oil barrels has spilled from Kharg Island since the slick was first detected by satellite images Tuesday. It’s unknown whether the spill was caused by a malfunction, an airstrike or something else. He said the spill appears to be spreading southwest and within the next two weeks could potentially reach the shores of the UAE, Qatar or Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon declined to comment on whether the U.S. military was tracking the spill or whether there had been recent strikes on the Iranian island. Based on the imagery taken earlier this week, the spill occurred before the most recent round of U.S. strikes. Calls for calm As tensions escalate there's been a flurry of diplomacy across the globe. Russia’s foreign ministry said Saturday that it, as well as Saudi Arabia, is calling for continued diplomatic efforts to reach a “sustainable, long-term agreement” to end the war, according to Russia's foreign ministry. Egyptian and Qatari top diplomats have also have reiterated that diplomacy is the sole path to finding a solution, according to a readout of a Saturday phone call between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country has been in contact with the U.S. and Iran “day and night” in an effort to extend the ceasefire and reach a peace deal. —— Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt. Associated Press reporter Jill Lawless contributed from London.
Iranian Official
The United States violated the fragile ceasefire through direct strikes on two Iranian oil tankers and military sites in the Strait of Hormuz, an act of foreign aggression targeting Iran's sovereign right to navigate its waters and export resources. Bahrain's arrest of 41 individuals affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, under US influence, represents further interference aimed at suppressing legitimate resistance to external threats. Iran upholds its sovereignty and will continue defending against such provocations.
Israeli
From an Israeli security standpoint, the U.S. strikes disabling two Iranian tankers attempting to breach the blockade, alongside preemptive hits on IRGC-linked facilities, represent essential defensive measures to counter Tehran's relentless efforts to dominate the Strait of Hormuz and sustain its nuclear breakout capability—an existential threat to Israel and regional stability. Bahrain's arrest of 41 individuals tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard further exposes the IRGC's expansive proxy networks exploiting Shiite populations across the Gulf to undermine Sunni-led allies and facilitate asymmetric attacks. These developments underscore the fragility of any ceasefire while Tehran advances its nuclear program and proxy infrastructure, necessitating sustained pressure rather than premature concessions.
Neutral
A U.S.-Iran ceasefire appeared to hold Saturday after American forces struck two Iranian oil tankers on Friday. The U.S. military stated it had disabled the vessels for attempting to breach a blockade and had also thwarted attacks on its ships while striking Iranian facilities in the Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry reported the arrest of 41 people it described as linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, with investigations ongoing.
Western
U.S. forces conducted precise strikes Friday to neutralize Iranian tankers attempting to breach the American-led blockade and disrupt attacks on Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, successfully upholding the tenuous ceasefire while advancing strategic objectives to secure maritime routes and counter Iranian aggression. Washington continues to await Tehran’s response to proposals aimed at reopening the strait and constraining its nuclear program. In Bahrain, authorities arrested 41 individuals tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, bolstering efforts to dismantle proxy threats amid the conflict.
Pro-Peace
The US strikes on Iranian oil tankers and military facilities risk severe humanitarian fallout, including potential oil spills that could devastate coastal communities, disrupt vital energy supplies, and deepen economic hardship for civilians across the Gulf. In Bahrain, the arrests of 41 people amid the conflict underscore how warring parties exploit tensions to crack down on dissent, compounding suffering for the Shiite majority under a Sunni monarchy. With a US proposal on the table to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and curb nuclear risks, sustained diplomacy offers the clearest path to sparing lives and ending this costly confrontation.
Global South
US strikes on Iranian tankers and facilities in the Strait of Hormuz underscore persistent neo-colonial interference that erodes Iran’s sovereign control over its energy routes and resources. Bahrain’s mass arrests of alleged Iranian-linked figures, enabled by hosting the US Fifth Fleet, expose how local monarchies exploit foreign military footholds to suppress domestic dissent and mask institutional weaknesses. The fragile ceasefire and stalled nuclear talks reflect Washington’s unilateral dictates overriding regional autonomy.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A tenuous ceasefire appeared to be holding Saturday after the United States struck two Iranian oil tankers, while the country that hosts the U.S. Navy’s regional headquarters said it arrested dozens of people it alleged were linked to Iran’s Rev…
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International mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, according to a senior Iranian official cited in reports. The measure is described as intended to reduce hostilities and allow renewed talks on a prior interim agreement.
Both sides are assessing next steps in the current regional security situation.
Reports indicate that a US-Iran ceasefire has broken down amid renewed fighting, with the potential impact of mediation efforts by Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman remaining unclear. Earlier diplomatic steps included a June memorandum of understanding between the parties for further negotiations and talks hosted in Geneva in February.
The summary also references Europe’s historical role in diplomacy, including the 1814-15 Congress of Vienna.
Donald Trump stated in a Fox News interview that his representatives had spoken with Iranian officials an hour earlier and that those officials wanted to make a deal to end the conflict, though he noted they had broken prior agreements and expressed uncertainty about whether one would be reached.
He added that people do not want to die and that Iran would need to proceed carefully to avoid further losses. The remarks come amid an ongoing US-Iran conflict that has involved casualties and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with some social media users criticizing the repetition of similar statements.
Why the Iran-US ceasefire is falling apart Iran and the US have resumed fighting because they don’t see each other as ‘reliable negotiating partners’, says analyst Ali Vaez. Neither Iran nor the United States seems able to deliver a “knockout blow at an acceptable price” to the other side, and both know “they have no choice other than engaging in diplomacy”, but they’re not ready to make uncomfortable concessions, argues Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at International Crisis Group.
Vaez tells host Steve Clemons that Tehran and Washington are trying to “enforce their own interpretation” of the ceasefire agreement they signed last month. President Trump has become “frustrated” with diplomacy because he’s not seeing “the kind of quick results that he likes to see”, Vaez says.