How the Strait of Hormuz Clash Tested the U.S.–Iran Ceasefire

That distinction shaped what followed. The ceasefire reduced direct escalation, but it left a practical problem unresolved: whether merchant ships could move through Hormuz safely, and whether that movement would be secured by Iranian control, a U.S.-backed escort system, or some uneasy combination of both.

What triggered the early-May clash

In early May, U.S. forces pushed ahead with a guarded effort to reopen commercial transit through the strait. AP-linked reporting said only two merchant ships were known to have passed through a new U.S.-guarded route while hundreds more remained bottled up ^[20].

During that operation, the U.S. military said it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small Iranian boats that it said were threatening or targeting civilian ships ^[20][28]. Reuters also reported that the U.S. military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats, along with cruise missiles and drones, after President Donald Trump sent the Navy to escort stranded tankers through the strait in a campaign called “Project Freedom” ^[32].

The exchange did not happen in isolation. The United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally, said it came under Iranian attack after the ceasefire had taken hold, adding to the sense that the truce was being tested beyond the strait itself ^[28][35].

Washington’s account: protecting commercial navigation

The U.S. framed the clash as a limited defensive action tied to reopening the waterway. In that account, Iranian small boats were threatening civilian or commercial vessels, and U.S. forces acted to protect navigation through a route meant to restore shipping access ^[20][28].

U.S. officials also tried to separate the firefight from a formal collapse of the ceasefire. AP-linked reporting said U.S. military leaders continued to describe the ceasefire as in effect despite attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and against the UAE ^[35]. The Institute for the Study of War and the Critical Threats Project reported that Trump said the most recent Iranian attacks did not amount to a ceasefire violation because there had been no “heavy firing” ^[31].

Tehran’s account: warning shots and control

Iran’s version was almost the mirror image. Iranian state-linked reporting said the Iranian Navy fired missiles, drones and rockets near U.S. warships approaching the Strait of Hormuz, describing the action as warning fire after the ships allegedly ignored Iranian warnings ^[41].

That framing cast Iran’s actions as deterrence rather than aggression against civilian shipping. The Institute for the Study of War and the Critical Threats Project assessed that Iran was trying to demonstrate “control” over the strait in response to U.S. efforts to secure freedom of commercial navigation there ^[31]. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, also accused the United States and its allies of ceasefire breaches that endangered shipping and energy transit through the waterway ^[33].

The two narratives, side by side

Did the ceasefire collapse?

Based on the available reporting, the safest answer is that the ceasefire did not clearly collapse in any formally acknowledged way. U.S. military leaders said it remained in effect ^[35]. AP described the war as risking reignition but said the ceasefire appeared to be holding, while Reuters described the truce as under strain or in jeopardy after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire ^[32][37].

That is why the episode is best understood as a serious test of the April 8 ceasefire rather than a clean end to it. The clash exposed two incompatible claims: Washington said it was securing civilian shipping through Hormuz, while Tehran said it was warning off U.S. warships and asserting control over the strait ^[28][31][41]. The public record in the provided reporting does not resolve which side initiated the confrontation; it shows that both sides used the same incident to defend competing visions of who gets to police the waterway.

The US fights to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the UAE comes under attack in a test of Iran truce ... DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military said it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small boats targeting civilian ships as it moved to reop...