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New Delhi: Putting their fragile month-long ceasefire at risk, the United States and Iran exchanged fire near Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global oil supply. The two warring sides accused each other of carrying out attacks as Tehran was deliberating over a proposal to end the conflict that has heavily impacted global oil markets and caused significant supply disruptions.

Iran alleged that the US troops started the aggression and targeted two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and attacked civilian areas. Washington refuted Iran’s claim and said it fired in retaliation.

The confrontation between the two sides, the first such sharpest escalation since the April 7 truce, comes at a time both countries are seeking to hold a second round of peace talks. A few weeks back, US President Donald Trump had indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran to give more time for negotiations.

What Trump said

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the US military destroyed Iranian attackers targeting three US Navy destroyers as they transited through the Strait of Hormuz. He also warned that “we’ll knock them out a lot harder and a lot more violently” if Iran doesn’t sign a deal soon.

“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,” Trump wrote.

“They were completely destroyed along with numerous small boats, which are being used to take the place of their fully decapitated navy,” he added.

What Iran said?

Meanwhile, Iran said the US targeted “an Iranian oil tanker travelling from Iran’s coastal waters near Jask toward Hormuz, as well as another vessel entering the strait near the Emirati port of Fujairah”.

“At the same time, with the cooperation of some regional countries, they carried out air attacks on civilian areas along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik, and Qeshm Island,” a spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement carried by state media.

Will fresh face-off threaten US-Iran fragile ceasefire? 

The fresh clash raised concerns over the sustainability of the shaky ceasefire between the US and Iran. However, Trump assured that it remained intact despite new violations, which he described as a “love tap”.

“It’s just a love tap…the ceasefire is going. It’s in effect.” Trump told ABC News when asked about the skirmishes.