Iran Slams US Diplomacy as Gulf Naval Clashes Escalate

Iran on Saturday questioned the seriousness of American diplomacy following renewed naval clashes in the Gulf, where a US fighter jet disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its naval blockade of Iranian ports. An Iranian military official said the country's navy had responded "to American terrorism with strikes" and that clashes had ceased, as the United States awaited Iran's response to its latest peace proposals after more than two months of fighting. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Turkish counterpart that American actions in the Persian Gulf had "added to suspicions about the motivation and seriousness of the American side in the path of diplomacy." A CIA assessment indicated Iran could withstand the US blockade of its ports for approximately four months before suffering severe economic pressure, according to a US official familiar with the matter, suggesting Washington's leverage over Tehran remains limited despite the naval enforcement actions. US Central Command reported that 58 commercial vessels have been redirected and four others disabled since the naval blockade began on April 13. Meanwhile, Bahrain's interior ministry announced that security services had dismantled an organization accused of links to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, arresting 41 suspected members. Britain said it was deploying HMS Dragon, an air defence destroyer, to the Middle East to prepare for a potential multinational coalition with France to secure the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow. In Lebanon, Israeli air strikes killed eight people in southern Lebanon on Saturday despite a three-week-old ceasefire with Hezbollah, with more raids targeting a highway south of Beirut far from the group's traditional strongholds. The health ministry reported that an Israeli drone struck a Syrian national and his 12-year-old daughter twice, killing the father and leaving the girl undergoing life-saving surgery. Hezbollah responded by targeting Israeli troops in northern Israel with a drone and claimed additional attacks on military targets inside Lebanon using rockets, warning of "a new phase" in which it would not accept a return to pre-conflict conditions.