This U.S. Navy handout photo released Friday by U.S. Central Command Public Affairs, shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) implementing a maritime blockade against the Iran-flagged crude oil tanker vessel Herby while the latter was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, on Apr. 24. The war launched by the U.S. and Israel in late February saw Iran respond with attacks across the Middle East and maintain a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, choking off major flows of oil, gas, and fertilizer to the world economy, while the U.S. has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports. AFP PHOTO / US NAVY / NAVCENT PUBLIC AFFAIRS - Yonhap

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers on Friday after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, reported another Iranian missile and drone attack.

The attacks cast more doubt on a tenuous month-old ceasefire that the United States has insisted is still in effect. Washington is awaiting an Iranian response to its latest proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the strait and roll back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hopes to receive “a serious offer” from Iran later Friday.

The U.S. military said Friday that its forces had disabled two Iranian tankers that were trying to breach an American blockade of Iran’s ports. Hours earlier, the military said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships and struck Iranian military facilities in the strait.

Iran has mostly blocked the critical waterway for global energy since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, causing a global spike in fuel prices and rattling world markets. The U.S. has imposed its own blockade of Iran's ports.

The UAE’s Defense Ministry meanwhile said three people were wounded after air defenses engaged two ballistic missiles and three drones launched by Iran. It was not clear if all were successfully intercepted.

US says it responded to an attack in the strait

The U.S. military posted video of the two Iranian tankers as their smokestacks were struck by an American fighter jet on Friday. Earlier in the week, an American military jet shot out the rudder of a tanker the U.S. military said was attempting to breach its blockade.

Late Thursday, the U.S. military said it thwarted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and struck Iranian military facilities in response. It said no American ships were hit.

Source: Korea Times News