US strikes Iran again, official says, after Trump denies deal on Strait of Hormuz

The United States carried out new military strikes targeting Iranian drone operations that it said threatened U.S. forces and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a U.S. official, just hours after President Donald Trump dismissed reports of a possible agreement to restore traffic in the strategic waterway.

The official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. military shot down four Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch another drone. The operation came despite a ceasefire between the United States and Iran that took effect in early April.

“These actions were measured, purely defensive and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” the official said.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency, meanwhile, cited a military source claiming that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Navy fired toward a U.S. oil tanker attempting to pass through the strait, forcing the vessel to turn back. The source added that U.S. forces later struck open ground near Bandar Abbas, but no casualties or damage were reported.

The latest developments highlighted ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran despite diplomatic efforts to end the conflict that began nearly three months ago.

Oil prices rebounded following reports of the new U.S. strikes. U.S. crude futures rose nearly 2% to $90.38 per barrel in early Asian trading on Thursday after falling more than 5% the previous day.

During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump rejected an Iranian state television report claiming that Tehran had obtained an unofficial draft agreement aimed at restoring commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to prewar levels within a month.

The report claimed Iran and Oman would jointly manage traffic through the waterway, while the United States would lift its blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw military forces from the area.

Trump denied that any country would control the strait.

“Nobody’s going to control the strait,” Trump said. “It’s international waters.”

The White House and Oman’s embassy in Washington did not immediately comment on the report.

Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi, head of parliament’s national security committee, said Trump’s remarks would not pressure Iran into abandoning its demands, including uranium enrichment, authority over the strait and the lifting of sanctions.

“It is obvious Trump, seeking a way out of this strategic deadlock, alternates between issuing threats and appealing for an agreement,” Azizi said in a post on X.

The war, which began on February 28 following U.S. and Israeli strikes, has killed thousands and caused major disruptions to global energy markets.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical global shipping route, handling about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas traffic before the conflict escalated.

The United States currently maintains around 15,000 troops involved in operations linked to Iran, alongside additional forces stationed across the Middle East, including bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The Pentagon did not immediately comment on the latest military actions.

Iranian state television also reported that discussions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program would likely be addressed in a second round of negotiations. The United States has repeatedly insisted that Iran must never obtain nuclear weapons, while Tehran maintains that its nuclear activities are intended solely for peaceful purposes.

“The bottom line is Iran’s never going to have a nuclear weapon,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during the cabinet meeting.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Navy said 23 commercial vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz with its permission over the previous 24 hours, significantly lower than the estimated 125 to 140 ships that transited the waterway daily before the conflict. -Reporting by Reuters' bureaux; Writing by Sharon Singleton, Hugh Lawson, Patricia Zengerle and David Morgan; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Cynthia Osterman, Don Durfee, Deepa Babington and Lincoln Feast./Reuters