Iran's navy attacks US ship with missiles for passing Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM denies strike

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Two people were injured when a residential building was targeted in Oman's Bukha along the coastline of the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported on Monday.

"A security source reported that a residential building for employees of a company in the Tibat area of Bukha was targeted, resulting in moderate injuries to two expatriates, damage to four vehicles and broken glass in one of the nearby houses," the Oman News Agency said.

The US military has destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones fired by Tehran as the US launches an operation to free up shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, US Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, said on Monday.

Cooper said he "strongly advised" Iranian forces to remain clear of US military assets as it launches the operation. He said a US blockade of Iran, which prevents ships from going to Iran or departing Iranian territory, also remains in effect and was exceeding expectations. 

The UAE's defence ministry and state news agency on Monday said a fresh Iranian barrage had targeted the country following multiple alerts from authorities warning people to take cover.

"Four cruise missiles launched from Iran were detected toward various areas across the country. Three were successfully engaged over the country's territorial waters, while one fell in the sea," the defence ministry said on social media.

State news agency WAM also cited the defence ministry as saying its forces were working to repel missile and drone attacks coming from Iran.

A drone strike caused a fire at an energy installation in the emirate of Fujairah, authorities said Monday, following multiple alerts from the government.

"Fujairah Civil Defence teams immediately responded to the incident and are continuing their efforts to control it," the Fujairah media office said in a statement.

Fujairah is home to a major port, pipeline and other petroleum based installations bypassing the throttled Strait of Hormuz.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday urged China to step up its diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, adding that the subject will be discussed when President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.

"China, let's see them step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait," Bessent said during a live Fox News Channel interview.

Bessent said that China was buying 90percent of Iran's energy, "so they are funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism." He said that he was urging China to "join us in this international operation" to open the strait, but he did not specify what action Beijing should take. He added that China and Russia should stop blocking initiatives moving through the United Nations, such as a resolution encouraging steps to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Bessent said Trump and Xi have been discussing the Iran situation and will exchange views on this in person during their 14-15 May summit in Beijing. But he emphasised that the two will strive to maintain stability in the US-China relationship that was established with their trade truce reached last October in Busan, South Korea.

"We've had great stability in the relationship, and again, that comes from the two leaders having great respect for each other," he said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied on Monday that any commercial ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz, after the US military earlier said two US-flagged merchant vessels had transited through the vital waterway.

"No commercial vessels or oil tankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past few hours, and the claims of American officials are baseless and completely false," the Guards said in a statement on Telegram.

South Korea said it was verifying intelligence that a South Korean-flagged vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, Yonhap News said on Monday.

A spokesperson for South Korean shipper HMM told Reuters that a fire broke out in the engine room of one of its bulk carriers in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the cause of the blaze was still under investigation.

He said there were no reports of casualties or injuries.

The US military said two US Navy guided-missile destroyers had entered the Gulf to break an Iranian blockade and that two US ships had transited the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran said it had prevented a US warship entering the Gulf. 

Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who have been detained in Israeli prison are facing psychological abuse, death threats and poor detention conditions, a rights group representing them said Monday.

"Thiago Avila (one of the activists) reported being subjected to repeated interrogations lasting up to eight hours. Interrogators have explicitly threatened him, stating he would either be 'killed' or 'spend 100 years in jail'," rights group Adalah, whose attorneys visited both activists in their detention Monday, said in statement.

Adalah added that a court would decide Tuesday whether to further extend Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Avila's detention.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates sent a phone alert on Monday telling residents that the situation was safe after an earlier warning of potential missile threats.

The UAE's interior ministry said people could resume their normal activities "while continuing to remain cautious and take the necessary precautions."

Less than half an hour earlier, a phone alert had asked residents to immediately seek a safe place and await further instructions.

It was the first such alert issued by the authorities since early April.

The Iranian navy fired cruise missiles, rockets and combat drones near US destroyers crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, state television reported.

It said the navy had identified US destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz and fired multiple warning shots, adding, "following the Zionist American destroyers' disregard for the initial warning, the Navy issued a warning shot by firing cruise missiles, rockets, and combat drones around the aggressor enemy vessels".

The US military meanwhile said two guided-missile destroyers had entered the Gulf.

The United Arab Emirates issued a mobile phone alert for a potential missile attack on Monday, nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East war.

"Due to the current situation, potential missile threats, immediately seek a safe place in the closest secure building," the message read.

CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper has reportedly flown over regional waters in and near the Strait of Hormuz in an AH-64 Apache helicopter on 3 May, on the eve of US military support for Project Freedom, CENTCOM said on X.

He reportedly interacted with US Army Soldiers after visiting with Sailors and Marines on Saturday aboard two US Navy warships patrolling the Arabian Sea.

Hezbollah announced it had targeted a group of Israeli military vehicles and soldiers with rockets in the town of Qantra, as fighting continued between the two despite a ceasefire.

According to Lebanese media, fighting also occurred in the Wadi Raj area, between Deir Seryan and Zawtar, of southern Lebanon, with Israeli airstrikes also being reported on the towns of Qana, Dabaal, Qalaouiyah, and Beit Yahoun.

Artillery shelling was also reported in Zawtar, Shahour and Touline.

Hezbollah's leader on Monday condemned Israel's operations in Lebanon amid a fragile ceasefire, repeating the group's rejection of direct negotiations between the Israeli and Lebanese governments.

"There is no ceasefire in Lebanon, but a continuous Israeli-American aggression," Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said in a written statement broadcast by the al-Manar TV channel, which is affiliated with the Iran-backed militant group.

"Lebanon is the victim of aggression, and it is Lebanon that needs guarantees for its security and sovereignty" from Israel, he added.

He criticised the direct talks, saying they put Lebanon "under tutelage", and instead called for diplomacy that leads to an end to the war that began on 2 March.

"Direct negotiations are a gratuitous concession, without results," he said.

"So do not betray the resistance."

The United Arab Emirates on Monday accused Iran of attacking an empty crude oil tanker belonging to the Abu Dhabi state oil firm ADNOC with drones as it attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

ADNOC's maritime energy logistics unit said the Barakah was empty when it was attacked by two drones, and no injuries were reported.

"The UAE further stressed the need for Iran to halt these unprovoked attacks, ensure its full commitment to an immediate cessation of all hostilities, and the complete and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz," the foreign ministry added.

Iran has blocked entry and exit from the Gulf to most non-Iranian ships since the US and Israel began attacking it on 18 February. It has threatened to attack unauthorised vessels as they transit the Strait, conduit for around a fifth of the world's oil and gas shipments.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency ​said earlier that a tanker had reported being hit by unknown projectiles while about 78 nautical miles north of UAE's Fujairah.

No US Navy ships have been struck, US Central Command said on Monday, after Iran asserted that it had forced a US warship to turn back.

🚫 CLAIM: Iranian state media claims that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles.

✅ TRUTH: No U.S. Navy ships have been struck. U.S. forces are supporting Project Freedom and enforcing the naval blockade on Iranian ports. pic.twitter.com/VFxovxLU6G

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 4, 2026

A US official has denied to an Axios reporter that a US ship has been hit by Iranian missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, following reports of an incident in Iranian media.

A US warship intending to pass through the Strait of Hormuz was turned back after ignoring Iran's warning, Fars news agency reported on Monday citing local sources, adding that two missiles hit it when it was sailing near Jask.

Iran executed three men after they were convicted of involvement in anti-government protests that rocked the country in December and January, authorities said Monday.

Arrests and executions in Iran, particularly linked to the protests that began in December over living costs, have been on the rise since the start of the regional war triggered by a US-Israeli attack on 28 February.

"Mehdi Rassouli and Mohammad Reza Miri, Mossad agents involved in the January riots in Mashhad (northeast), responsible for widespread violence and the death of a member of the security forces, were hanged," said the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website, referring to the Israeli spy agency.

The court accused the two men of "using Molotov cocktails and bladed weapons, inciting and encouraging others to kill, and directly participating in the murder of a security officer".

"Ebrahim Dolatabadi, one of the main instigators of the riots in Mashhad that claimed the lives of several members of the security forces, was also hanged," Mizan added.

The UAE's foreign trade minister confirmed on Monday that his country was discussing a currency swap line with the United States, but denied seeking a bailout.

Asked whether the UAE had secured the swap line, Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said it was still "under discussion" during a panel at the Make it in the Emirates conference in Abu Dhabi.

He denied the measure had been sought as a bailout, and said the UAE wanted to join an "elite group" of countries with existing swap lines with the US.

Last month the Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that the UAE had sought the line as a financial backstop should the war in the region further strain its economy.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy issued a new map of the area of the Strait of Hormuz under its control on Monday, state media reported.

The area starts in the west with a line between the westernmost tip of Iran's Qeshm island to the United Arab Emirates' Umm al Quwain emirate. In the east, the area stops at a line between Iran's Mount Mobarak and the UAE's Emirate of Fujairah.

It was not immediately clear if and to what extenct their claimed area of control has changed.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that the United States must reduce its demands on the Islamic republic, with negotiations stalled over ending the two-month-long US-Israeli war on Iran.

"At this stage, our priority is to end the war," he said in a briefing broadcast by state television. "The other side must commit to a reasonable approach and abandon its excessive demands regarding Iran."

French President Emmanuel Macron urged the United States and Iran Monday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in a "coordinated" way, as the US military pressed ahead with a mission to escort ships out of the waterway.

"What we want above all is a coordinated reopening by the United States and Iran - that is the only solution for reopening the Strait of Hormuz," Macron said at a meeting of European leaders in Armenia.

"We are not going to take part in any military operation in a framework that to me seems unclear," said the French leader, whose country has with Britain led efforts to assemble a coalition to reopen the strait once peace is secured.

The US has evacuated 22 crew members held aboard an Iranian container vessel to Pakistan and will hand them over to Iranian authorities on Monday, Pakistan's foreign ministry said, calling the move a "confidence-building measure".

"The Iranian ship will also be backloaded to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its original owners after necessary repairs," the ministry said in a statement.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said on Monday that with the United Arab Emirates' airspace now fully clear, operations and flights are being scaled up in line with routing capacity.

Despite disruption from the Iran war since the end of 28 February, Dubai International and Al Maktoum International airports have still supported more than 6 million passengers, over 32,000 aircraft movements, and more than 213,000 tonnes of cargo, with demand for travel through Dubai remaining strong, Griffiths added in a LinkedIn post.