Ceasefire on brink as Iran and Donald Trump trade insults as Tehran attacks three US Navy vessels

Published: 23:02, 8 May 2026 | Updated: 23:04, 8 May 2026 The fragile peace in the Middle East seemed to be crumbling on Friday after Iran attacked three US Navy warships and launched missiles towards the United Arab Emirates. Iranian naval vessels targeted the USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta and USS Mason with multiple missiles, drones and small boats. The US Navy said it intercepted the attack before targeting Iranian missile and drone launch sites, command and control locations and reconnaissance sites. Despite appearing to instigate the attack, Iran accused the US Navy of 'provocative actions' and described its assaults as part of a 'precise combined operation'. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X: 'Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table the US opts for a reckless military adventure.' But even after the US ships were targeted, President Trump claimed the ceasefire was intact, while further threatening devastating reprisals should Iranian attacks continue. He said: 'They trifled with us and we blew them away. I'll let you know when there's no ceasefire. 'You won't have to know there's no ceasefire, you'll just have to look at the one big glow coming out of Iran. And they had better sign their deal fast.' President Donald Trump (pictured) claimed the ceasefire was intact even after US vessels were targeted USS Rafael Peralta implementing a maritime blockade against the Iran-flagged crude oil tanker vessel Stream. The US ship was attacked by Iran on Thursday but was not struck Tehran has been pummelled by US and Israeli air strikes since Saturday, when they killed Ayatollah Khamenei According to the Iranian media, there was also an attack on Qeshm Island and the Iranian coastal city of Bandar Abbas.  Air defence units in Tehran and other cities were activated. In a separate operation US forces disabled unladen Iranian oil tankers before they could port in the Gulf of Oman. According to US military sources the Sea Star III and the Sevda were in breach of the blockade. The skirmishes occurred as attempts to negotiate a lasting ceasefire continue. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was expecting to receive Iranian peace proposals imminently. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.