South Korea Weighs Role In US Hormuz Mission After Ship Blast
South Korea has said it would “review its position” on joining US-led operations in the Strait of Hormuz after Donald Trump blamed Iran for an apparent attack on a South Korean-operated vessel.
An explosion and fire struck the Panama-flagged cargo ship HMM Namu on May 4 while it was anchored in the vital waterway, which has been largely blocked since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East in late February.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on May 5 that all 24 crew members on the Namu were safe and that the fire had been extinguished, adding that “the exact cause of the accident would be figured out after the vessel is towed and its damage is assessed.”
Trump said Iran had fired on the ship and urged Seoul to join US efforts to escort stranded vessels, suggesting it was time for allies to contribute to securing the strait.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry said it would “carefully review our position,” citing international law, maritime safety, and alliance considerations. It also said that it had been "actively participating in international discussions on cooperation to ensure safe passage" through the strait.
Vanguard, a British maritime risk management company that monitors shipping threats, said authorities were investigating whether the blast was caused by an attack, a drifting mine or another external factor, as dozens of South Korean-linked vessels remain stranded in the crucial shipping lane.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Iran's Internet Shutdown Driving Job Losses, Says Monitor
The NetBlocks connectivity monitor says Iran's digital blackout "continues to drive job losses" as the country's Internet shutdown enters its 69th day.
Iranian President Says He Recently Met Supreme Leader
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian has said that he recently met and had a detailed conversation with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Speaking at Iran's Health Ministry on May 7, Pezeshkian said he met Khamenei for 2 1/2 hours but gave no further details about the meeting, only that the supreme leader was a "model for the country's management and administrative system" due to his "sincerity and humility."
After the assassination of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war with the US and Israel on February 28, Iran's Assembly of Experts named his son Mojtaba as the new leader.
However, there have been no public appearances, images, or audio from the supreme leader since then. Some written statements, purportedly from Khamenei, have been published in the Iranian media.
The New York Times reported last week that Khamenei was wounded the day his father was killed and was still receiving treatment for injuries to his leg, lips, and face.
The New York Times also reported, citing Iranian officials, that the reason Khamenei had not yet recorded and released any video or audio messages was that he does not want to appear vulnerable or weak in his first public speech.
'It's Not Entirely Clear Who Is In Charge'
Our senior correspondent in Washington, Alex Raufoglu, spoke with Barry Pavel, a former senior director for defense policy and strategy at the National Security Council, who served as a special assistant to the president under George W. Bush, about the strategic meaning behind recent developments in the war with Iran and the chances of a peace deal.
Read more.
Iran Denies Involvement In South Korea Ship Incident
In a statement, Tehran's embassy in Seoul has said that Iran wasn't involved in an incident that damaged a South Korean ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The embassy's statement also said that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz requires "coordination with the competent authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and that ignoring the conditions "may lead to unwanted incidents."
On May 4, there was an explosion and fire on a South Korean-operated cargo ship called the HMM Namu in the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, a South Korean presidential national-security adviser said it was not yet clear whether the explosion and fire were caused by an attack or a technical malfunction. The adviser said the fire started in the engine room and none of the ship's 24 crew members were injured.
The US has blamed Iran for the incident, with President Donald Trump saying that Iran fired shots at the vessel.
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
ASEAN States Meet As Iran War Takes Growing Economic Toll
Leaders of the ASEAN states are arriving in the central Philippines on May 7 for a summit focused on economic issues tied to the war in the Middle East.
Supply chain issued caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran are likely to dominate the discussions of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a grouping of 11 countries, the latest being Timor-Leste.
Fuel shortages, rising food prices, and the safety of migrant workers in the Middle East region will be the key issues at the summit, President Ferdinand Marcos said ahead of the summit after he declared a state of national energy emergency in his country of about 118 million people.
"What we really need at this time is for leaders to talk about...how can we help each other," he said.
With reporting by AFP
Rubio Set To Meet With Pope In Vatican Amid Tensions Over Iran War
US Secretary of State Macro Rubio is set to meet with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 7 amid an extraordinary war of words between the pontiff and President Donald Trump over the actual war in the Middle East.
US officials have said Rubio will meet with the pontiff and other Vatican leaders to discuss the situation in the Middle East, as well as other key issues affecting the Western Hemisphere.
Trump has heavily criticized the first American pope in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history after the pontiff called for peace and expressed dismay over the US military operation in Iran.
The US president accused Leo of being “soft on crime” and being in favor of allowing Tehran to develop a nuclear arsenal.
"I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon," Trump wrote on Truth Social on April 12.
The 70-year-old pontiff rejected the 79-year-old Trump’s assertion that he was in favor of allowing Tehran to attain weapons of mass destruction.
“The Church has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there,” Leo told reporters on May 5. And, so, I simply hope to be listened to for the value of God’s words.”
Leo has also spoken out for the rights of immigrants and refugees -- comments seen by some Trump supporters as targeted toward the president.
With reporting by CNN
Read more here.
Israel Targets Hezbollah Unit Commander In Beirut Suburb Amid Cease-Fire
Israeli forces struck a Beirut suburb on May 6 for the first time since a cease-fire took effect three weeks ago, targeting and reportedly killing a commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan special forces unit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense chief Israel Katz said in a joint statement that the operation was aimed at “eliminating” Malek Balut, commander of Radwan unit.
Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon, is considered a terrorist organization by the US, while the EU has blacklisted its armed wing but not its political branch.
Israeli Channel 13, citing Israeli sources, reported that Balut, his deputy, and several other fighters were killed in the strike. Hezbollah sources confirmed to AFP that the commander was killed.
"The Radwan terrorists led by him are responsible for fire directed at Israeli communities and attacks against Israel Defense Forces soldiers," Netanyahu and Katz said in the statement.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that "Israeli warplanes launched an attack, targeting Ghobeiri" in the southern Beirut suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
US Warplane Fires On Iranian-Flagged Ship
- By RFE/RL
US military officials said a naval warplane fired on and disabled the rudder of an Iranian-flagged oil tanker that tried to break the US blockade of Iranian ports.
In a statement on May 6, US Central Command, which oversees Washington's forces in the region, said the ship's crew "failed to comply" with demands and a F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet fired on the ship, identified as the M/T Hasna, as it was en route to an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.
"American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the US blockade," officials said.
The tanker was not carrying oil, the statement said.
US forces have imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, following Iran's moves to effectively close down all maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
US naval forces had been escorting some ships through the chokepoint waterway, but US President Donald Trump announced a suspension of that effort.
Macron Calls For End To Hormuz Blockade
French President Emmanuel Macron called for restoring ship traffic to the Strait of Hormuz, and he condemned Iran’s “unjustified” strikes against civilian ships and targets in the United Arab Emirates.
In a post on X, Macron also confirmed that the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was being “pre-positioned” near the strait as part of efforts to restore shipping to the chokepoint waterway.
Macron said he spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Masud Pezeshkian, expressing “deep concern over ongoing escalation,” and he said he “condemned unjustified strikes against Emirati civilian infrastructure and several ships.”
“All parties must lift the blockade of the strait, without delay and without conditions,” he said. “We must return to the regime of complete freedom of navigation that prevailed before the conflict.”
More than 1,500 commercial ships have been stranded in the Persian Gulf since Iran effectively shut down passage through the Strait of Hormuz after US-Israeli attacks on the country.
The blockade has sent global energy prices spiking, prompting concern in Europe and East Asia.