WASHINGTON/CAIRO, (Reuters) – Efforts to end the war between the U.S. and Iran appeared to stall as the two sides traded fire in the Gulf on Friday, while a U.S. intelligence analysis concluded Tehran could withstand a naval blockade for months.
A CIA assessment indicated that Iran would not suffer severe economic pressure from a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports for about another four months, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, suggesting that U.S. leverage over Tehran remains limited as the two sides seek to end a conflict that has been unpopular with U.S. voters.
The Washington Post first reported the assessment.
Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack on Friday.
Washington is awaiting Tehran’s response to a U.S. proposal that would formally end the war before talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.
“We should know something today,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Rome earlier in the day. “We’re expecting a response from them.”
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran was still weighing its response, and none was reported by mid-afternoon in Washington, just before midnight in Tehran.
SPORADIC CLASHES IN STRAIT
Meanwhile, more sporadic clashes between Iranian forces and U.S. vessels took place in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported. The Tasnim news agency later cited an Iranian military source saying the situation had calmed, but warning more clashes were possible.
The U.S. military said it struck two Iran-linked vessels attempting to enter an Iranian port, with a U.S. fighter jet hitting their smokestacks and forcing them to turn back.
Iran has largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the strait since the war began with joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes across Iran on February 28. The U.S. imposed a blockade on Iranian vessels last month.
Oil prices rose, with Brent crude futures above $101 a barrel, though still down more than 6% for the week.
Trump said on Thursday the ceasefire was still holding despite the flare-ups in the strait, which before the war handled one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
