Iran Attacks U.S. Navy Vessels Transiting Strait of Hormuz

Latest Developments

Iran Attacks U.S. Vessels: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on May 7 that “U.S. forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman.” The statement noted that “Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) transited the international sea passage. No U.S. assets were struck.” CENTCOM added that it had “eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes.”
Trump Responds: President Donald Trump excoriated the Tehran regime in a Truth Social post, stressing that “Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers.” However, when asked if the ceasefire was “still on,” Trump answered, “Yeah, it is.”
UAE Comes Under Attack: The United Arab Emirates said that it came under attack from several Iranian-launched projectiles on May 8, including three UAVs and two ballistic missiles. Abu Dhabi reported that the attacks resulted in three “moderate injuries.”

FDD Expert Response

“After successfully defending Navy and merchant ships against Iranian attacks, the United States is conducting proportional responses to protect both the ships and our partner, the UAE. If Iran continues with its attacks, the next round should be disproportionate, striking Iranian leadership, ballistic missiles, and legitimate economic targets.” — RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Senior Fellow and Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology

“Interpreting the president’s public remarks is not necessarily a fruitful exercise, as his priorities include misleading both foreign adversaries and domestic critics. We are not in a ceasefire but in a different phase of the war, with the U.S. military tactic of blockading Iranian ports hurting the Iranian economy, whilst the Iranians both challenge that blockade and test U.S. resolve through escalatory attacks on the UAE. Iran still clearly has limited naval capabilities, as the United States has not been able to neutralize all its fast attack craft. The Iranian objective is to persuade the United States to settle for reopening the strait without decisive progress on the nuclear and other files, leaving the Islamic Republic to continue rebuilding its military capabilities and intimidating its neighbors.” — Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Fellow