The United States and Iran have exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting fears that the already fragile ceasefire between the warring nations could collapse.The flare-up in fighting on Thursday came as Washington awaits a response from Tehran to its latest proposals for an agreement to end the war, which began with joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listHere’s what we know about how significant the latest clashes are and what each side is trying to achieve.What happened in the Gulf on Thursday?US President Donald Trump said three US Navy destroyers were attacked as they moved through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies are shipped during peacetime, but which Iran has all but closed since the conflict started. Last month, the US launched a naval blockade of Iranian ports in return.“Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.Trump later told reporters that the ceasefire, which began in early April between the US and Iran, was still in effect and sought to play down the exchange.“They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Trump said in Washington.But Iran’s top joint military command accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship. It also said the US carried out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island, a strat …
