US fire on Iranian tankers sparks reprisals as peace deal hangs in balance

A US fighter jet disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers to enforce a port blockade on Friday, prompting retaliatory attacks and rattling a shaky truce as Tehran weighed Washington's latest proposal to end the Middle East war.

A parallel ceasefire in Lebanon was also under strain on Friday, as Hizbollah launched missiles at a military base in Israel in response to a Beirut strike that killed a top commander and other attacks in the south.

The US Central Command said an F/A-18 Super Hornet used precision munitions on Friday against two ships in the Gulf of Oman — gateway to the vital Strait of Hormuz — to prevent them from continuing to Iran.

An Iranian military official told local media the country's navy had "responded to the violation of the ceasefire and to American terrorism with strikes", adding that after the "exchanges of fire, the clashes have now ceased."

The latest incident came after another flare-up overnight in the strait, control of which an adviser to Iran's supreme leader compared to having "an atomic bomb."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Friday that it was "unacceptable" for Tehran to control the strait, adding that Washington was expecting Iran's response to its latest proposal later in the day.

"I hope it's a serious offer, I really do," he told reporters during a trip to Rome. Washington has sent Iran, via Pakistani mediators, a proposal to extend the truce in the Gulf to allow talks on a final settlement of the conflict launched 10 weeks ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Agence France-Presse