US petrol prices hit highest level in years – as it happened | US-Israel war on Iran
Closing summary
This blog is closed but you can read our full report on the Iran war and wider Middle East crisis here.
Here’s the main news of the day:
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President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening said he has paused ‘Project Freedom’ – the effort to guide stranded commercial vessels from the strait of Hormuz – in order to finalise a deal with Iran to end the war.
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Trump also said the US blockade of Iranian ports would continue. He announced the decision in a social media post Tuesday evening. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran is yet to comment on Trump’s statement.
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The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said earlier that major US military operations against Iran are over. He said Iran must agree to US demands on its nuclear program and reopen the strait. Rubio said recent clashes with Iran related to US efforts to reopen the strait were “defensive in nature”.
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While Rubio was speaking, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a cargo vessel had been struck by a projectile in the strait. Further details of the incident were not immediately available.
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The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said earlier on Tuesday that the US had successfully secured a path through the waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through. The four-week-old truce with Iran was not over, he added.
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UN Security Council members began closed talks on Tuesday on a text the US drafted with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar, which, if it were to pass, could lead to sanctions against Iran, and potentially authorise force, if Tehran fails to halt attacks and threats to commercial shipping.
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Fresh exchanges of fire on Monday underscored the stakes as the US and Iran struggle for control of the narrow waterway, shaking a fragile four-week-old truce and reinforcing rival maritime blockades.
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For a second consecutive day, the United Arab Emirates said its air defences had shot down missiles and drones from Iran. Tehran did not immediately comment.
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Clashes have continued between Hezbollah and Israel. Israel’s military said late Tuesday that Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon had launched “several rockets” toward Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon. No injuries were reported.
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The US national average retail price of gasoline surpassed $4.50 a gallon on Tuesday for the first time since July 2022, data from GasBuddy showed.
Key events
Clashes continue between Hezbollah and Israel
Israel’s military said late on Tuesday that Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon had launched “several rockets” toward Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.
No injuries were reported.
Israel’s military also says it intercepted drones and what it calls “aerial targets” launched by Hezbollah before they crossed into Israeli territory.
Hezbollah started firing at Israel shortly after the beginning of the Iran war, and Israel responded with airstrikes and launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced along the border.
The attacks have continued despite a ceasefire in place since 17 April.
Almost two hours after Donald Trump said Project Freedom was paused, the price of Brent crude has remained largely static, hovering about $108 a barrel.
The price briefly crested $115 on Monday before it dipped. But it’s still well above its roughly $70 price from before the war with Iran.
US petrol prices hit highest level in years
The US national average retail price of gasoline surpassed $4.50 a gallon on Tuesday for the first time since July 2022, data from GasBuddy showed.
As the US Memorial Day weekend approaches and with it peak summer driving season, surging pump prices pose a major political risk for President Donald Trump and his Republican party as they campaign for midterm elections in November.
Without de-escalation in the Middle East, analysts say US motor fuel prices could rise past prior records.
Further to what is happening in the strait, earlier today Marco Rubio told reporters that many countries want to help open Hormuz but some lack the ability to do so.
Asked what the global appetite is for the US effort to reopen the strait, Rubio said the issue has not been a lack of interest but that not many can provide the assets and resources needed.
“The capabilities is the issue. A lot of countries would love to do something about it. But they don’t have a navy, right? Or they can’t get there in time.” he said. The onus, he said, is on the US.
Confusing US messaging over strait of Hormuz
Trump’s latest statement on pausing Project Freedom comes hours after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said the US had successfully secured a path through the waterway and that hundreds of commercial ships were lining up to pass through.
Speaking earlier on Tuesday, Hegseth said that the four-week-old truce with Iran was not over. “Right now the ceasefire certainly holds, but we’re going to be watching very, very closely.”
General Dan Caine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iranian attacks against US forces fell “below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point”.
A couple of hours ago, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a cargo vessel had been struck by a projectile in the strait. No other details are known at this stage.
Trump says Project Freedom and movement of ships through strait of Hormuz paused
Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social that Iran and the US have mutually agreed that while the US blockade “will remain in full force and effect”, Project Freedom – the movement of ships through the strait of Hormuz – will be paused. Trump said this was to see if an agreement between the two countries can be finalised and signed.
Iran is yet to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment offering further detail about the progress in negotiations that Trump alluded to in his posting.
Trump said he was making the move based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”
We have a little more detail on another vessel that reportedly safely exited the strait of Hormuz on Monday.
The CS Anthem chemical tanker became the second commercial US-flagged vessel known to do so while protected by the US military, its operator said on Tuesday. Maersk said on Monday that the Alliance Fairfax, a US-flagged vehicle carrier operated by its Farrell Lines subsidiary, had exited the Gulf via the strait.
US forces are helping to restore commercial shipping through the strait, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Monday. Centcom said that US Navy guided-missile destroyers are operating in the Gulf under a directive called “Project Freedom”.
NBC News, citing two unidentified US officials, reported that two ships had US military security teams aboard when Iran launched attacks against them during their strait of Hormuz transits on Monday. Representatives from Maersk and Crowley did not immediately comment on that report.
The United Arab Emirates president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has received calls from regional leaders, including the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, condemning what they described as Iranian attacks on civilians and civilian facilities in the UAE, according to state media reports.
The leaders “affirmed their countries’ solidarity with the UAE and support for measures it takes to safeguard its security and stability and ensure the safety of its citizens,” the news agency WAM said on Wednesday.
The UAE said it has faced missile and drone attacks for a second day.
Earlier this week, citing two people familiar with the matter, the New York Times reported the Israeli military has deployed its Iron Dome missile defence system in the UAE during the Iran war.
The Iron Dome missile defence system is able to intercept incoming short-range rocket fire.
FIFA has invited the Iranian football federation to its headquarters for talks over the country’s participation at this year’s World Cup, a source told Agence France-Presse.
Iran’s presence at the tournament, to be held in the US, Canada and Mexico between 11 June and 19 July, has been shrouded in uncertainty since the war erupted.
You may remember last month that Paolo Zampolli, a special envoy to Donald Trump, suggested Italy should be fast-tracked to the World Cup despite their shock defeat by Bosnia and Herzegovina in last month’s playoffs.
Zampolli proposed the four-time winners Italy replace Iran and said they would “have the pedigree to justify their inclusion”. Marco Rubio later stepped in to quash those suggestions.
The day so far
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US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the military objectives of so-called “Operation Epic Fury” have concluded and the offensive stage of the war with Iran is “over”. Speaking at the White House press briefing, Rubio insisted that ongoing US military action in the strait of Hormuz is “defensive” in nature and a separate operation, in line with the Trump administration’s argument that it doesn’t need approval from Congress to continue the war against Iran. “There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first,” he told reporters, urging Iran to “make the sensible choice” and negotiate a deal.
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With the status of the ceasefire in doubt, Donald Trump declined to say what would constitute a violation, telling reporters only that Iran knows “what not to do”. It comes amid rising tensions after both sides exchanged fire in the strait of Hormuz on Monday. “Well, you’ll find out because I’ll let you know,” the US president said. “They know what to do, or what not to do more importantly.”
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Trump’s defense secretary Pete Hegseth insisted that “Project Freedom” has allowed the US to gain control of the strait, despite Iran claiming it has actually strengthened its control of the waterway, and thousands of cargo ships remain stranded there.
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Rubio framed the US’s operation in the strait of Hormuz as a rescue effort, saying that Iran had left thousands of mariners “for dead”. He said the US was trying to reopen the strait “as a favour to the world”, neglecting to mention that its closure is the result of the war the US started.
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Meanwhile, the UK maritime authority reported a cargo vessel being struck “by an unknown projectile” in critical waterway.
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And for a second consecutive day, the United Arab Emirates said its air defences had shot down missiles and drones from Iran. Tehran did not immediately comment. It comes a day after the UAE said it had intercepted 15 Iranian missiles and four drones.
Rubio says offensive stage of the war is ‘over’
Doubling down on Donald Trump’s argument that he doesn’t need approval from the US Congress to continue the war against Iran, Rubio says that “Operation Epic Fury” has concluded.
double quotation mark The operation is over. Epic Fury – as the president notified Congress – we’re done with that stage of it. We’re now onto this Project of Freedom.
Now the US president wants to reach an agreement with Iran regarding how the strait of Hormuz can be fully reopened, Rubio says.
This is in line with what we’ve heard over the last few days from the Trump administration, which has argued that ongoing US military activity in the strait is “separate” to the war, and therefore doesn’t require congressional approval.
Rubio says US is trying to reopen strait of Hormuz as a ‘favour to the world’
Rubio says the US is working to get ships through the strait of Hormuz as a “favour to the world … because we’re the only ones that can”.
He says ships that are currently stranded in the strait (which Iran has effectively closed in retaliation for the war the United States and Israel launched back in February) are holding goods that are essential for the people of other countries, including fuel, fertiliser and humanitarian aid.
double quotation mark It’s their ships that are stranded. Not ours.
He adds that the US is stepping up because “we’re the only ones that can project power in that part of the world”.
Asked about situation in Lebanon, where Israel continues to launch air strikes and issue forced evacuation orders, Rubio says he thinks “a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is imminently achievable and should be”.
He adds:
double quotation mark The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon, it’s Hezbollah. Hezbollah operates from inside of Lebanese territory. They terrorise and attack Israelis, but they also are inflicting tremendous damage on the Lebanese people.
He says the US hopes that the Lebanese government and armed forces will be able to “begin to challenge Hezbollah and disarm them”.
So far, proposed talks between the leaders of Israel and Lebanon, which were to be mediated by the US, haven’t materialised since they were floated last month. Rubio insists the US is “very committed to this process”.
double quotation mark It’s not going to be easy … this has been going for a very long time.We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that both sides continue to talk so that progress can be made on some sort of permanent ceasefire that isn’t constantly spoiled by Hezbollah and by Hezbollah violence.
Cargo vessel struck in strait of Hormuz, says UK maritime authority
I’ll bring you more from the briefing shortly, but first the news that a cargo vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile within the strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency has said.
UKMTO said this update was sent to them at 7.30pm UK time.
double quotation mark UKMTO has received a report of an incident within the Strait of Hormuz. A verified source reported a cargo vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile. Environmental impact is unknown at time of report. Vessels are advised to report any suspicious activity to UKMTO, whilst authorities investigate.
