Fighting in the Gulf intensifies as a CIA assessment claims Tehran can withstand a blockade for four months.

While Washington awaited Tehran's reaction to a plan to terminate the war, US and Iranian soldiers engaged in gunfire in the Gulf. The limits of US pressure were demonstrated by a CIA estimate that said Iran could endure a blockade for months.

As both sides engaged in gunfire in the Gulf on Friday, efforts to put an end to the war between the United States and Iran seemed to lose steam, and a CIA assessment indicated Tehran could have to withstand a naval blockade for several more months.

Iran would not experience significant economic strain from a US blockade of its ports for around four months, according to a US official familiar with the intelligence estimate. This suggests that Washington's influence over Tehran may remain restricted despite increasing military and economic pressure.

The Washington Post was the first to report on the assessment, which coincided with a sudden increase in tensions in and around the Strait of Hormuz, where this week saw some of the most intense fighting since the ceasefire on April 7.

Authorities reported that air defenses in the United Arab Emirates stopped two ballistic missiles and three drones that were launched from Iran on Friday. According to officials, three people had moderate injuries.

Before talks on more general matters, including as Iran's nuclear program, start, Washington is waiting on Tehran's reaction to a US proposal meant to formally end the dispute.

According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Rome, "We should know something today." "We anticipate hearing back from them."

Iran's foreign ministry, meanwhile, stated that Tehran was still deliberating over its response and had not yet made a formal announcement by late Friday.
CLASHES CONTINUE IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Iranian and US forces were involved in sporadic clashes in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency. Tasnim later quoted an Iranian military source as saying the situation had calmed, though further confrontations remained possible.

The US military said it struck two Iran-linked vessels attempting to enter an Iranian port, with a fighter jet targeting the ships’ smokestacks and forcing them to retreat.

Iran has largely restricted non-Iranian shipping through the strategic waterway since the conflict began with joint US-Israeli airstrikes across Iran on February 28. Washington imposed a blockade on Iranian vessels last month.

Brent crude futures climbed above $101 a barrel amid the renewed tensions, although prices remained more than 6 per cent lower for the week.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the ceasefire was still largely holding despite recent flare-ups in the strait, which previously handled about one-fifth of global oil supplies.
IRAN ACCUSES US OF VIOLATING TRUCE



Iran accused Washington of undermining the ceasefire through continued military operations.

“Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the US opts for a reckless military adventure,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday.

Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that one crew member was killed, 10 others wounded and four missing after what it described as a US Navy attack on an Iranian commercial vessel late Thursday.

Rubio, after meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, questioned why European allies were not more strongly supporting US efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“Are you going to normalise a country claiming to control an international waterway?” Rubio said. “Because if you normalise that, you’ve set a precedent that’s going to get repeated in a dozen other places.”
US EXPANDS SANCTIONS PRESSURE

Alongside diplomatic efforts, the US also intensified sanctions targeting Iran’s military-industrial network.

The US Treasury announced sanctions on 10 individuals and companies, including entities in China and Hong Kong, accused of helping Iran obtain weapons components and raw materials used in the production of Shahed drones.

Treasury officials said Washington remained prepared to take further economic action against Iran’s military industrial base and any foreign companies facilitating Iranian trade, including airlines and financial institutions linked to China’s independent “teapot” oil refineries.

The sanctions announcement came days before Trump is expected to travel to China for talks with President Xi Jinping.