May 5: Iran activates new Strait of Hormuz
transit system - as US blockade ends
in failure
May 5th, 10:06pm
(Press TV Website Staff)
Iran ....tightened its control over the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday,
rolling out a formal mechanism for regulating all maritime traffic
through the world’s most sensitive oil chokepoint, just hours
after the US killed at least five civilians by attacking two
unarmed cargo boats traveling from Oman to the
Iranian coast.
Under the new system, which was first reported by Press TV,
every vessel seeking passage will receive official transit
instructions from Tehran, as the Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps (IRGC) warned ---- that only Iran-
designated routes will be deemed safe.
The escalation also prompted a blunt message to the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), with Tehran warning that any military
action launched from Emirati territory will be met with a
“crushing and regretful” response.
As condemnation of the US attack spread, including from
former UN representative Mohamad Safa, who called
Washington’s war secretary a “war criminal”, Iran
reiterated that the growing crisis once again
proves there is no military solution in
West Asia.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, heading to Beijing for high-level
talks, said Tehran’s diplomacy will continue “from a position of
strength,” while other officials warned that any further US or
Israeli action will exact a price “far beyond their threshold
of tolerance.”
Key developments on day 67 of the war,
the twenty-eighth day of the ceasefire:
Iran has formally activated a new system to regulate all maritime
traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to an
exclusive report by Press TV. Under the newly implemented
system, all vessels intending to transit the Strait of Hormuz
will receive an email from the official address info@PGSA.ir
outlining the rules and regulations for passage.
Iran's top military command warned the United Arab Emirates
that any military action launched from its soil against Iranian
territory will be met with a “crushing and regretful” response.
The IRGC warned ships seeking to pass the Strait of Hormuz
to exclusively use the corridor designated by Iran as safe.
The United States attacked two civilian cargo boats heading
from the Omani coast to the Iranian shoreline, claiming the
lives of at least five people on board, Tasnim News
Agency reported.
Mohamad Safa, a UN representative who recently resigned,
said US War Secretary Pete Hegseth is either a “war
criminal” or “murderer”, saying the US military
deliberately targeted two civilian boats
traveling from Oman to Iran, killing
five unarmed civilians.
Ali Akbar Velayati, senior advisor to the Leader of the Islamic
Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, warned
US Marines that they are being sacrificed by US
President Donald Trump and his ambitions
to remain in office even after the end
of his current term in 2028.
Iranian Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, warned
that the ongoing situation in the Strait of Hormuz is becoming
“unbearable” for the United States, while Tehran has “not
even started yet.”
Major General Yadollah Javani, deputy commander of the IRGC
for political affairs, warned that the repercussions of any
urther escalation against Iran will be considerably
severe for the US, stressing that Washington will
utilise all its military power but will be defeated
at the hands of Iranian forces.
In a letter addressed to the United Nations Security Council,
Iran’s Permanent Representative, Amir Saeid Iravani,
categorically rejected a recent resolution, adopted
by the Arab League, saying “no attempt to shield
the perpetrators of aggression” will absolve
those responsible --------- of their
international obligations.
The Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is travelling to
Beijing for high-level talks with his Chinese counterpart
on bilateral ties and regional developments.
Foreign Minister Araghchi stated that recent developments in
the Strait of Hormuz have once again made it crystal clear
that there is no military solution to the political crisis
in the West Asian region, reaffirming the Islamic
Republic’s policy ---- of pursuing diplomacy
from a position of strength.
Ali Akbar Ahmadian -- the representative of the Leader of
the Islamic Revolution to the Supreme National Defence
Council, warned -- that any hostile move by the US and
Israeli enemy against the Islamic Republic will exact
a price far beyond their threshold of tolerance.
Authorities in the UAE are reportedly conducting a
sweeping deportation campaign targeting tens of
thousands of Pakistani workers - freezing their
bank accounts and stripping them of their life
savings - amid growing regional fallout from
the US-Israeli aggression on Iran.
A heated exchange took place between the British Chancellor
of the Exchequer and the US Treasury Secretary Scott
Bessent over the US-Israeli aggression against Iran
during last month’s IMF Spring Meetings... in
Washington, the Financial Times reported.
The Israeli regime’s forces are using internationally banned
white phosphorus shells against civilian areas in southern
Lebanon, state news agency National News Agency
(NNA) reported.
The Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll - revealed deep
scepticism among the US public regarding Trump’s ability
to lead, with a majority declaring him mentally and
physically unfit for the presidency, as the fallout
from Washington’s reckless war on Iran ------
continues to hammer the US economy.
Oil prices soared with the Brent crude contract for July
delivery jumping more than 5 percent as tensions
escalated in the Strait of Hormuz.
_____________________________________
Hezbollah hits Israeli helicopter,
and several Merkavas in
southern Lebanon
May 5th, 2:19pm
(Al Mayadeen English)
Hezbollah announces a new wave of operations against
Israeli assets in southern Lebanon, targeting vehicles,
soldier gatherings, and a military helicopter ----
successfully.
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, Hezbollah, announced a fresh
set of defensive operations against Israeli assets in southern
Lebanon, in response to the nonstop aggression the Israeli
entity has carried out against the country since the
declaration of the so-called ceasefire
in early April.
Hezbollah announced targeting an Israeli Merkava tank on May 4,
at 11:45 pm, in the town of al-Bayyada with a precision-guided
missile. The statement confirmed a direct hit after the enemy
tank was seen ablaze.
Operations on May 5, 2026
Israeli gatherings... struck
Kickstarting the operational day, Hezbollah's fighters responded to
the Israeli aggression and violations against Lebanese towns and
villages, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of several
civilians, with an operation against a gathering of Israeli
occupation soldiers and vehicles in al-Bayyada with
rocket weapons at 12:15 am.
At 12:30 pm, in a simultaneous operation in al-Bayyada, Hezbollah
targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers and vehicles with an FPV
drone and achieved a direct hit.
At 12:45 pm, Hezbollah's fighters targeted an Israeli soldier and
vehicle gathering in Khallat Raj in Deir Seryan with a rocket
barrage, achieving a direct hit.
At 1:15 pm, a gathering of Israeli soldiers was
struck with artillery shells in al-Bayyada.
At 3:10 pm, a gathering of Israeli enemy vehicles and soldiers
in Adshit al-Qusayr ---- was struck with artillery shells.
20 minutes later, Hezbollah targeted an Israeli soldier and
vehicle gathering in al-Bayyada .....with a rocket barrage.
Operations against Israeli vehicles
At 7:00 am, another Israeli Merkava tank was targeted in
al-Qawzah using an FPV drone - and was directly struck.
At 9:00 am, Hezbollah's fighters targeted a D9 military
bulldozer in Rshaf using an FPV drone and achieved
a direct hit.
Only 15 minutes later, another D9 military bulldozer was
directly struck in Khallat Raj in Deir Seryan with an
FPV drone. A direct hit was confirmed.
10 minutes later, at 9:25 am, Hezbollah targeted a NAMER
vehicle attempting to tow the targeted D9 in Deir Seryan,
achieving a direct hit using an FPV drone.
At 12:30 pm, a third Merkava was targeted in al-Bayyada with
a precision-guided missile, and a direct hit was confirmed.
At 1:00 pm, Hezbollah announced the targeting of
an Israeli military vehicle in the vicinity of
al-Qantara square with an FPV drone.
Enemy helicopter --- directly struck
In a top-tier operation, Hezbollah deployed a surface-to-air
missile and targeted an Israeli military helicopter over
al-Bayyada at 1:35 pm. The helicopter was
reportedly directly struck.
Israeli sites targeted
At 3:35 pm, the newly established Israeli artillery position in
Rab Thalathin was targeted with a swarm of attack drones.
Hezbollah releases footage
Hezbollah's Military Media also published footage
documenting several military operations carried
out recently ------- against the Israeli occupation
forces in South Lebanon.
Source: Al Mayadeen English
_______________________________
The Failed Strait of Hormuz blockade forces US pivot as Iran’s strategic
patience and leverage grow
May 5th, 1:53pm
(Press TV Strategic
Analysis Desk)
For months, the United States pursued a high-stakes strategy
in the Strait of Hormuz. The objective was clear: impose a
naval blockade, strangle Iran's economy, and wait for
Tehran to capitulate – to surrender both the
waterway and its negotiating leverage.
But two nights ago, Washington abruptly changed course.
President Donald Trump ....announced the so-called
"Project Freedom," a new military adventure to
forcibly reopen the strategic waterway,
framed as a “humanitarian” effort to
free stranded merchant ships.
The announcement, as the ground reality amply demonstrates,
was not a signal of strength. It was an admission that the
blockade had failed.
The failure reveals.... a fundamental miscalculation:
the US overestimated its own strategic endurance
and underestimated Iran's.
Washington has now been forced to recognize that
prolonging the blockade inflicts greater damage
on the US – politically, economically, and
temporally – than on Iran.
Time, once presumed to be a US
weapon, has become a liability.
The blockade that backfired
The US's original plan had a brutal but miscalculated
logic: cut off Iran's oil revenues, choke its economy,
and let domestic pressure do the rest.
The assumption was that Iranian resilience was finite –
that weeks or months of economic pain would force
Tehran to reopen the strait itself, then meekly
concede to maximalist US demands on the
nuclear and regional issues.
That assumption collapsed and the sound was loud.
Iran demonstrated a level of strategic patience and
economic adaptation that Washington never
anticipated. With alternative trade routes,
barter arrangements with China and
Russia, and a wartime economy
hardened by decades of illegal
and unjust sanctions, Iran
proved --- it can outlast a
blockade, which -- in its
essence was maritime
banditry and piracy.
More critically, Tehran calculated correctly that
the US operates under severe time constraints
that Iran does not share.
Now, the US finds itself under intense pressure –
not just economic, but political and global too.
Every day the blockade continues, US allies
grow restless. Global energy markets
remain volatile. European partners,
already strained by the Ukraine
war, chafe at disruptions to
Persian Gulf shipping.
Inside the US, the clock ticks... toward the November
midterm elections. The Trump administration needs
a win to show something – even a cosmetic one.
Iran, by contrast, has mastered the long game,
wielding strategic patience, as a weapon.
Consolidation, not collapse
Here is the detail Washington finds most alarming:
every day Iran maintains control over the strait,
its grip grows stronger. This ------ is
dynamic consolidation.
Iran's offensive - and defensive - capabilities inside the
strategic waterway, are becoming more sophisticated.
New naval tactics, improved coastal defense systems
and asymmetric tools - which include drones and fast
-attack craft – are being integrated into a layered,
adaptive doctrine of the country’s defense.
Simultaneously, national cohesion among Iranians around
the waterway's defense is increasing. Whether driven by
patriotic pride, loyalty, or sheer defiance of foreign
pressure, the blockade has backfired - by uniting
Iranians.. around a common cause. Attempts to
divide Tehran through economic warfare, have
instead triggered a rally-around-the-flag effect.
Beyond Iran's borders, major powers are recalibrating.
China and Russia... have no interest in seeing the US
dictate passage through a waterway critical to their
own energy security and strategic influence.
Both Beijing and Moscow are quietly building new
equations with Tehran --- equations that tilt the
strategic balance decisively in Iran's favour.
Why the US needs a "victory"
– any victory
Concurrent with the blockade, Washington and Tehran have
been exchanging proposals to end the war of attrition. The
problem for the US - is that the balance of power on the
ground has not changed. No dramatic breakthrough.
No Iranian collapse. No defections.
This explains the sudden pivot to the so-called "Project Freedom."
The US does not need to win big. It needs to win something –
any minimal gain – before entering serious negotiations
with the Iranian side.
By forcibly reopening the strait, even temporarily, Washington hopes
to shatter the perception of Iranian physical and strategic control.
That symbolic victory would then allow the US to enter talks with
a much stronger hand ---- leveraging the strait's reopening to
extract concessions, not only on the nuclear file, but also
on Iran's missile program and other issues.
But there is a fatal flaw in this logic. Iran has already signaled,
clearly and publicly, that it will respond harshly - to any such
adventurism. A US attempt to blast open the strait will not
be met with passive acceptance. It will be met ------- with
mines, missiles, swarming drones, and a very real risk
of a renewed US-Iranian military confrontation.
Political clock is ticking against Trump
Beyond the military calculus, the US
president faces an unforgiving
political timeline.
Pressure on Trump – from Congress, the media, and global
allies – is rising daily. A prolonged naval blockade with no
clear end in sight is a political loser. Voters - do not rally
around indefinite standoffs. They rally around decisive
victories ...or convincing retreats.
The wider world refuses to pause while the US plays out
its naval strategy. Events are accelerating elsewhere:
European tensions with Washington over trade and
security, fresh maneuvers in the Ukraine-Russia
war, rising heat over China and Taiwan, and
shifting diplomatic alignments between
Iran and the Arab Gulf states.
Inside the United States, the midterm election
campaign season ....has already begun.
Time, in short, is flowing against Trump. Every week the
Strait of Hormuz remains shut, without a clean US
victory.. it chips away at his political standing.
This is why the administration has dropped
its "no hurry" posture. They are, in a
hurry now.
The false flag ''gambit''
There is one final, dangerous piece to this puzzle. Trump's
advisors have - reportedly - discussed the possibility of
restarting the open war of aggression against Iran.
But even a US president cannot unilaterally sell a new
Persian Gulf war to the US public, or the world at
large, without a plausible justification.
Enter the "humanitarian" framing for "Project Freedom."
By presenting the Strait-breaking operation... as a
“humanitarian” mission to protect shipping and
global energy supplies Washington hopes to
construct a false flag narrative: if Iran
responds militarily, Iran will appear
as the aggressor. Tehran would
be saddled with the blame
for restarting the war.
Iran, however, knows the game well. It knows that a
harsh response is coming, regardless of how the
US packages its new military adventure. The
question is not whether Iran will react, but
how precisely it calibrates that response
to expose the false flag - for what it is.
Misreading Tehran's internal debates
One final miscalculation colours US thinking. Reports
reaching Trump - suggest disagreements among
Iranian officials about negotiations, the war
strategy, and the wisdom of continuing
the current confrontation with
the aggressor.
Washington appears to believe these internal debates
signal weakness – that Iran is divided, exhausted,
and ready to offer major concessions to end
the war.
This -- is a dangerous misreading. Every government debates
strategy. The question is what emerges from those debates.
Far from indicating a crumbling system, Iran's internal
discussions have consistently produced a unified
external stance: no surrender on the strait,
no easy concessions, and no fear of a
prolonged standoff.
If anything, the US belief in imminent Iranian "concessions"
may push Washington toward a more aggressive posture –
and thus --- towards a war it is not prepared to win.
The Strait as a mirror
The Strait of Hormuz --- has become
a mirror reflecting the true balance
of strategic endurance.
The United States, for all its military might, has discovered
that raw power cannot easily dislodge a determined,
adaptive, and patient adversary ---- especially one
that holds geographic and temporal advantages.
The US' shift from blockade to its "Project Freedom"
venture ----- is not a pivot to strength, but a veiled
acknowledgment.. that the maritime banditry
has failed.
_______________________________
Jebel Ali collapse transforms
Iran's logistical position
May 5th, 1:55pm
(PressTV)
The halt of activity at Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates,
due to heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf - has forced Iran
to accelerate a long-planned diversification of its trade routes.
The US and Israeli terrorist war on Iran and its effect on the
country's foreign trade chain have led to the creation and
development of new routes, with Pakistani, Indian and
Omani ports rapidly replacing the Emirati hub as
entry points for Iranian trade.
In fact, what was intended to weaken and restrict the Islamic
Republic has instead turned into a transformation in the
country's logistical position.
Jebel Ali, West Asia’s largest container terminal, has seen
operations effectively paralyzed since late February,
when Iran imposed selective passage through the
Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of the
terrorist war.
Major shipping operators including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd,
CMA-CGM and MSC have all halted Hormuz transit,
according to industry tracking data.
Iran has moved - from dependence on a single offshore
hub to activating multiple land and maritime corridors
simultaneously - as trust in Jebel Ali as a neutral
platform ...is gone.
Simultaneously with the intensification of wartime
conditions and the halt of activities at Jebel Ali,
the ports of Pakistan, India and Oman have
quickly replaced it in Iran's commodity
and logistics exchanges.
Eight alternative corridors and routes have been identified,
and executive planning for their development has been
carried out, according to Mohammad Sadegh
Ghannadzadeh, deputy of Iran's Trade
Development Organization.
Negotiations and agreements for the full activation
of routes and adjustment of transport tariffs are
reportedly underway.
A significant portion of these alternative routes - are overland
and rail, neutralizing US President Donald Trump’s delusional
naval siege of Iranian ports and piracy against the country’s
commercial vessels.
On Friday, he did not mince his words --- when he told a rally in
Florida that the US navy acted “like pirates”.. as he described
an operation stealing an Iranian oil tanker in the Sea of Oman.
The Iranian government, in cooperation with the private sector,
has designed and implemented - a set of alternative solutions
to sustain the trade flow, focusing particularly on developing
northern and western routes ......away from the traditional
southern maritime axis.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, pushed the diplomatic
architecture with an April 23 tour that included two trips to
Pakistan, stops in Oman, and a 90-minute meeting with
President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.
Despite intensified tensions and piracy by the Zionist and US
enemy, unloading and loading operations, vessel traffic and
berthing at Iran's southern ports continue normally, with
no interruption in the flow of goods.
The most significant breakthrough has come from Islamabad.
Pakistan has designated six transit routes, forming a wide
network for overland trade into Iran in a bid to bypass
the maritime trade routes in the Persian Gulf.
The corridor not only helps increase the speed of cargo
movement and reduce costs, but also, by connecting
to the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
and the Belt and Road Initiative, forms a strategic
bridge between South Asia and Eurasia.
US blockade crumbles...... as
Iran turns to overland routes.
Iran is bypassing the US naval blockade by using
overland routes, allowing Tehran to maintain
trade and oil shipments to key partners
like China and Russia.
The crisis has also... breathed new life into the
International North-South Transport Corridor
(INSTC) and given the plan new urgency.
Chabahar port, Iran’s only oceanic port which experts
believe will be the site of a future great power war,
has not been properly utilized.
For years, its development and that of its hinterland
rail link to Sarakhs ..have remained incomplete for
trade development with Central Asia. These new
developments have created fresh momentum
towards its serious completion.
Foremost, however, the developments serve as
practical confirmation that Iran's geography is
a trump card against any economic siege.
The transport industry is considered the backbone of
the economy and trade, and is directly and indirectly
connected to other commercial sectors including
banking, insurance and trade finance.
Dependence on Jebel Ali port ---
carries risks for Iran's economy.
For example, any disruption at the port could negatively
affect Iran's foreign trade --- with Iranian containers
pushed down the queue during busy commercial
seasons and forced to wait extended periods
for transfer to Iranian ports.
On the political front, tension between Iran and the UAE,
fueled by Abu Dhabi's accelerating embrace of Israel,
risks shrinking Iranian trade and exports: a dynamic
that played out plainly in Monday's events.
Authorities in Fujairah said on Monday that a fire broke
out at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone ---- accusing the
Islamic Republic of Iran of launching a drone strike.
Citing a senior military source, IRIB said the Iranian
armed forces had no premeditated plan to attack
the aforementioned oil facilities.
The blaze, it said, at oil facilities in Fujairah Port on
Monday ---- was a direct consequence of the US'
adventurism in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
What traditionally gave Jebel Ali preference, through
its corridor & artery connections with surrounding
countries ---- has inevitably changed, due to the
fundamental geopolitical shifts in the region
and the path that the UAE has taken...
with Israel.
___________________________________
UK chancellor, US treasury chief clashed
'fiercely' over aggression against Iran
at IMF meeting: Report
May 5th, 10:58am
(PressTV)
A heated exchange took place between British Chancellor of the
Exchequer and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the
US-Israeli aggression against Iran during last month’s IMF
Spring Meetings in Washington, according to a report.
The Financial Times carried the report on Tuesday, saying the
officials had a "fierce row" on the sidelines of the gathering,
clashing over the consequences of the aggression.
'We're not safer'
The disagreement followed remarks by Reeves, in which she said
she was "not convinced" that "we are safer today than we were
a few weeks ago."
According to The Financial Times, Bessent responded by "berate
[ing]" Reeves, arguing that the world had become "safer" as a
result of the joint attacks. The report added that he even
invoked, what he called, the "possibility" of Tehran's
launching a "nuclear attack on London."
Reeves reacted strongly to the remarks, responding "angrily
by telling Bessent she did not work for him and disliked
how he had spoken to her," the report noted.
She reiterated her concerns about the aggression, saying
that it lacked clear objectives and had not necessarily
improved global security.
Earlier criticism
Ahead of the IMF meetings... Reeves had already expressed
criticism of the aggression in comments to the Daily Mirror.
"This is a war that we did not start. It was a war that we did
not want. I feel very frustrated and angry that the US went
into this war without a clear exit plan, without a clear
idea of what they were trying to achieve. And as a
result, the Strait of Hormuz is now blocked."
Tensions have been rife in the Persian Gulf and around the
strategic chokehold since February 28, when the US and
Israeli regime ---- began the latest bout of unprovoked
aggression against Iran.
Iran shut down the waterway to enemies and their
allies following the launch of the aggression.
It began exercising far stricter controls last month after Donald
Trump announced an illegal blockade of Iranian vessels and
ports in continuation of the aggression and in violation of
the terms of a ceasefire the US president, himself, had
declared earlier.
Reeves is not the only European official
to critique the aggression.
Last month, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had likewise
denounced the campaign for lacking a clear "exit strategy,"
and noted that Tehran was "humiliating" Washington with
its negotiating tactics.
Reacting to the remarks, Trump said Merz
"doesn’t know what he’s talking about!"
________________________________________________
Five people were killed ---- in the US
shelling of two civilian cargo ships
May 5th, 1:31am
(Izvestia.ru)
The US fired on two civilian cargo ships, confusing them
with boats of the Iranian Navy of the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps. This was
reported on May 5 by the Tasnim
news agency, citing a
military source.
"After the false statement by the U.S. military that they had
attacked six Iranian speedboats, as none of the IRGC
warships were hit, an investigation was conducted
to verify the accuracy of this information from
local sources, and it was determined that
the U.S. aggressor forces had attacked
and fired on two small boats carrying
people," Telegram channel reported.
According to the agency,
five civilians were killed.