UAE Says It Intercepted Iranian Missiles and Drones
The United Arab Emirates says its air defense systems intercepted two ballistic missiles and three drones launched from Iran, leaving three people moderately injured.
In an X post on May 8, the country's Defense Ministry said that since the start of “blatant Iranian attacks” on the UAE, its forces had intercepted 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and 2,263 drones.
The Defense Ministry said the attacks have injured 230 people of multiple nationalities and killed 13 others, including three military-related fatalities and 10 civilians.
It added that it remained “fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats” to the country’s security and stability.
The UAE has blamed Iran for repeated missile and drone attacks during the conflict in the Middle East, as tensions spread across the region.
Iran Says It Seized Oil Tanker In Gulf Of Oman
Iranian media have reported the “seizure” of an oil tanker named OCEAN KOI in the Gulf of Oman by the country's naval forces.
A report published uniformly across Iranian media on May 8 claimed the tanker was carrying an oil cargo belonging to the Islamic republic and had been “attempting to damage and disrupt Iran’s oil exports and interests by exploiting regional conditions.”
The US Treasury Department had placed a tanker with the same name under sanctions in February for allegedly being linked to the export of Iranian oil and petroleum products.
Reports carried by Iranian state-affiliated media did not provide details about the tanker's alleged “exploiting” of regional conditions nor did they specify the exact time and location of its seizure.
The Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, however, has aired video footage showing armed personnel boarding the tanker from small boats.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Reuters, and AFP
Iran's Internet Blackout Enters Its 70th Day
A widespread Internet shutdown in Iran has now entered its 70th, the NetBlocks connectivity monitor said on May 8.
According to the digital access watchdog, the blackout and accompanying restriction of services has been harming "those most in need -- people with disabilities, students, small businesses and the general public."
The Iranian government claims the shutdown was due to security conditions stemming from the war with the United States and Israel, which began on February 28.
Critics and experts, however, insist the war was not the real reason for blocking Internet access and was merely a pretext to force people to use Iran's domestic National Information Network instead of the global Internet.
Meanwhile, officials and individuals close to the government, as well as those selected by the authorities through the allocation of so-called “white SIM cards,” continue to have Internet access, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.
In addition, some telecom operators have recently been offering so-called “tiered Internet” services to certain professions and social groups at exorbitant prices.
On April 5, Iran’s Internet blackout became the longest nationwide Internet shutdown ever recorded, according to NetBlocks.
Despite numerous reports about the extensive economic and social damage caused by the Internet shutdown in Iran -- including coverage by some domestic media outlets and even government officials -- no institution or official has formally accepted responsibility for the blackout or provided an official explanation.
Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Beijing Confirms Chinese Tanker Attacked In Hormuz Strait
China’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that an oil products tanker carrying Chinese crew members was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz, and expressed concern over the safety of vessels affected by the escalating Middle East conflict.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said there were Chinese nationals aboard the ship but no reported casualties.
The Chinese media outlet Caixin had earlier reported that a Chinese-owned tanker marked “CHINA OWNER & CREW” was attacked on May 4.
Maritime security sources identified the vessel as the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker JV Innovation, which reportedly caught fire off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
The attack came ahead of talks in Beijing on May 6 between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqch,i on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. China -- a major buyer of Iranian oil -- has kept imports from Iran largely steady despite the war.
The incident comes amid renewed exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran and growing disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Hamas Leader’s Son Killed In Israeli Strike
The son of a top leader of Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU, has died from wounds sustained in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City, multiple media outlets reported on May 8.
The Middle East Monitor, citing a correspondent for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, reported that Azzam al-Hayya, the son of Khalil al-Hayya, was critically injured in a strike on the Daraj neighborhood east of Gaza City on the evening of May 6 and died the following day.
According to Palestinian sources cited by The Middle East Monitor, Azzam al-Hayya was the fourth son of Khalil al-Hayya to be killed during the conflict with Israel.
The Israeli military has not commented on the matter.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi later offered condolences to Khalil al-Hayya, according to Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency.
Khalil al-Hayya is a senior Hamas official and chairman of the group’s political bureau. He has served as a leading Hamas negotiator in cease-fire talks with Israel during the Gaza war.
Pakistan Asks Singapore For Help To Bring Stranded Pakistani, Iranian Sailors Home
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister spoke by telephone with his Singaporean counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan, to request assistance in repatriating Pakistani and Iranian seafarers aboard vessels “seized by US authorities” near Singaporean waters.
In a social media post on May 8, Ishaq Dar said he had also discussed the matter with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. The US has not commented on the matter.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, 11 Pakistani and 20 Iranian seafarers are aboard the vessels. Dar said the Foreign Office is closely coordinating with US authorities and other relevant parties to ensure the “safety, welfare, and earliest possible return of the crew members.”
Earlier this week, Pakistan facilitated the return of the Iranian sailors from a vessel seized by the United States. The Pakistani Foreign Office says the transfer of the Iranian crew members was part of “confidence-building measures.”
The Iranian ship was seized by US forces on April 19. At that time, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that ship’s crew “failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period.”
Human Rights Watch Slams Iranian Government For Wave Of 'Politically Motivated Executions'
Human Rights Watch has called on all UN members to take action to halt the use of the death penalty in Iran, which it says has executed at least 28 people in the past six weeks.
Bahar Saba, a researcher for the organization, said in a video posted on the organization's X account late on May 7, that many of the executions involved people who were accused of participating in protests over eroding economic conditions at the start of the year.
HRW said those executed have all been convicted in courts where "the defendants' fundamental and basic rights are violated," while confessions were extracted from all of these individuals under "pressure and torture."
Iran was wracked by mass protests in January that were brutally suppressed by security forces. HRANA, a US-based human rights monitoring group, said it had verified nearly 7,000 deaths during Iran's crackdown on protesters in January and many more arrests.
The country also has one of the highest rates of capital punishment in the world. At least 1,639 people were executed in 2025, including 48 women, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM).
Human rights defenders have repeatedly accused Iran of using the death penalty to instill fear in society in the wake of a wave of anti-government protests in recent years.
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.
1,500 Ships, 20,000 Crewmembers Trapped Around Hormuz, Maritime Official Says
Some 1,500 ships and their crews are trapped in the Persian Gulf because of the Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) chief said on May 7.
"Right now, we have approximately 20,000 crewmen and around 1,500 ships trapped," IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez told the Maritime Convention of the Americas in Panama.
Following the US-Israeli air strikes against Iran launched on February 28, Tehran has fired missiles and drones at US Gulf allies and set a blockade of the strait, through which some 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies transited before the war.
The stranded crew members "are innocent people who are doing their jobs every day for the benefit of other countries," but "are trapped by geopolitical situations outside their control," Dominguez said.
"Ten sailors have lost their lives" in more than 30 attacks on vessels, he later told reporters.
On May 4, US President Donald Trump announced a naval operation to escort the trapped ships and force the opening of the strait but called off the effort shortly after as Washington waits for Tehran’s response to its latest peace proposal.
With reporting by AFP
US Says It Struck Iranian Naval Assets, Military Sites After 'Unprovoked' Attacks On Warships
US Forces intercepted and "eliminated inbound threats" and struck unspecified Iranian military sites after Iranian forces launched missiles, drones, and small boats at US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on May 7.
"US forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as US Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman, May 7," CENTCOM wrote on X.
The statement said Iranian forces "launched multiple missiles, drones, and small boats" at a number of US Navy ships -- including the USS Truxtun, the Rafael Peralta, and the Mason -- transited the crucial waterway, adding that no US assets were hit.
CENTCOM "eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking US forces including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes," it said.
US President Donald Trump later told ABC News that retaliatory strikes against Iran were just a "love tap" and insisted that, despite the strikes, the cease-fire announced on April 7 was still "in effect" and that negotiations were ongoing.
In a social media post, Trump said there was "no damage" to US vessels but "great damage" done to "numerous small boats."
He added that Iran is "led by LUNATICS, and if they had the chance to use a Nuclear Weapon, they would do it, without question...just like we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST! "
A day earlier, the Pentagon said its forces struck an Iranian-flagged ship attempting to break the US blockade of the country's ports. Tehran claimed the attacks were a violation of the cease-fire.
The semiofficial Fars News Agency reported that parts of Iran's Bahman Port on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz had been targeted by unknown attackers.
“During an exchange of fire between Iran’s armed forces and the enemy, commercial sections of Bahman Port were targeted,” said Fars, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Residents in coastal areas also reported blasts in social media postings, with witnesses on Qeshm Island describing hearing explosions and seeing flares above the surrounding seas.
Fars claimed there had been an exchange of fire with the "enemy," causing damage to a pier in Qeshm.
Tasnim News Agency, which is also closed to the IRGC, reported that several explosions had been heard in the port city of Bandar Abbas.
The Iranian reports could not immediately be verified, but the actions come as Trump has threatened renewed strikes unless the regime accepts a US peace deal handed to Tehran through Pakistani mediators.
Tehran has said it is studying the US proposal and will provide its response through the Pakistanis.