Iran…Trump…Conflict/War…Evening…5/4/2026…Things Go Sideways…..

Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the military’s Central Command, said that U.S. warships shot down cruise missiles and drones that Iran fired at the ships and commercial vessels the Navy was guiding through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command said that Army helicopters destroyed six Iranian military speedboats that threatened the ships in the strait. President Trump said Iran had “taken some shots at unrelated Nations,” including a South Korea cargo ship, in connection with an initiative he announced on Sunday to help guide stranded ships out of the strait. Mr. Trump said that aside from the South Korean ship, there had been “no damage going through the Strait.”

It remains unclear whether the attacks Monday indicated that the cease-fire had collapsed and that the war had resumed. Iran did not officially confirm or deny that it had resumed attacks, and a senior military official denied on state media that its boats had been sunk.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• U.S.-China: The United States is pushing China to help pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered a rebuke to over its purchases of Iranian oil. Read more ›

• Sailors transferred: Pakistan again played a mediating role as it said it had helped transfer 22 crew members from the MV Touska, an Iranian ship that had been captured by the United States. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the crew would be handed over to Iran on Monday. Read more ›

• Economy and markets: Oil prices jumped and stocks fell as investors reacted to the continued uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz. Read more ›

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The Guardian….

• Donald Trump threatened that Iran will be “blown off the face of the earth” if it attacks US vessels trying to reopen a route through the strait of Hormuz. The US president’s comments came as the US launched an operation – so-called “Project Freedom” – on Monday to help hundreds of ships trapped with their crews in the Gulf, dragging the region back to the brink of full-scale war. Tehran sought to reassert its blockade on the strait, while the US military claimed to have destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted both Iranian cruise missiles and drones, which was deniedby Tehran. Here’s our story.

• Earlier, Iran’s military central command warned that it would strike any US naval vessel approaching the strait, and claimed to have struck a US frigate in the area with two missiles. US Central Command denied that claim, saying that no US Navy ships had been struck and that US forces were continuing to enforce the naval blockade on Iranian ports.

• US Central Command also said that two US-flagged merchant vessels crossed through the strait of Hormuz on Monday as US Navy guided-missile destroyers operate in the Gulf. Shipping company Maersk later saidthat one of its US-flagged commercial vessels had successfully exited the strait under US military protection.

• Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates defence ministry said that its air defences engaged 15 Iranian missiles and four drones in a fresh barrage on Monday. Fujairah had also said earlier that a fire broke out at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, the largest oil storage zone in the UAE, following what they described as a drone attack originating from Iran.

• In neighbouring Oman, two people were injured by an attack on a residential building in Bukha, along the coastline of the strait of Hormuz, an Omani state news agency reported…

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ISW…Iran Update Special Report May 4, 2026

1. Iran is attempting to demonstrate its “control” over the Strait of Hormuz in response to US attempts to secure freedom of commercial navigation in the strait. Iran is attempting to disrupt these US efforts and demonstrate its control by attacking commercial vessels, oil infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and a civilian building in Oman.
2. It is against the United States’ interests to allow Iran to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz and thus a large part of international maritime commerce. Allowing Iran to exert control over the strait enables Iran to impose economic costs on the United States and the international economy while simultaneously giving it leverage in negotiations over other important issues, such as Iran’s nuclear program.
3. US President Trump indicated on May 4 that the most recent Iranian attacks did not constitute a ceasefire violation, however. Trump stated that there was no “heavy firing” when asked whether Iran’s actions violated the ceasefire.