MIDDLE EAST CRISIS LIVE - US FIRES ON TWO IRANIAN-FLAGGED OIL TANKERS IT CLAIMS WERE TRYING TO VIOLATE BLOCKADE
By Guardian - Yohannes Lowe/ Taz Ali - Fri 8 May 2026 16.30 BST
US fires on Iranian-flagged oil tankers it claims were trying to violate US blockade. The US Central Command (Centcom) claims it has struck two “unladen” Iranian-flagged oil tankers it said were attempting to violate the US blockade by entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.
“U.S. forces disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing U.S. blockade,” it said in a statement on social media.
Centcom claimed it had “disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks”. The statement added that US forces had also disabled a third Iranian-flagged vessel on Wednesday. “All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran.”
On Thursday Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships at the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas. The US insisted it struck in retaliation.
Italy, alongside Spain, is the European country that has seen some of the largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protests against Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
Last year, more than 2 million people took part in protests across 84 cities, with a general strike declared against the killing of civilians in Gaza. According to a recent YouTrend poll, nearly 60% of Italians disapprove of Israel’s actions in the Middle East.
The backlash between the two countries comes at a time of increasing unease among the Italian public about the broader implications of the conflict, particularly fears of economic fallout. Meloni, because of her closeness to Trump, is increasingly seen by some as complicit in this sense of looming instability.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio met with Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, on Friday as both sides seek to ease tensions after Donald Trump accused Italy of “lacking courage” for refusing to join attacks on Iran and threatened to withdraw US troops from the country.
The meeting, although cordial, does not appear to have eased the tensions between the two countries, which seem to have remained firmly entrenched in their respective positions.
Questioned why allies including Italy were not backing Washington’s efforts to confront Iran and re-open the Strait of Hormuz Rubio told reporters: ‘‘I don’t understand why anybody would not be supportive,” adding that countries needed “something more than just strongly worded statements” if they opposed Iran’s actions.’’
‘‘It was a frank dialogue between allies who defend their respective national interests while fully understanding how precious the unity of the West remains,’’ Meloni said at the end of the talks with the US secretary of state.
The Italian PM, whose political alliance and personal rapport with Trump had long been openly embraced – with the Italian leader saying earlier this year that she hoped he would one day receive the Nobel peace prize – has openly criticised the US president over the war with Iran, describing the US-Israeli strikes as “outside international law”.
Moreover, in Italy - a country long seen as a symbol of Catholicism – Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo, whom he accused of supporting nuclear weapons and described as “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy”, have enraged Italian public opinion and forced Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to distance itself from Washington.
“I find President Trump’s remarks about the Holy Father unacceptable,” Meloni said in a statement. “She is the one who is unacceptable,” Trump snapped, “because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon.”
US fires on Iranian-flagged oil tankers it claims were trying to violate US blockade
The US Central Command (Centcom) claims it has struck two “unladen” Iranian-flagged oil tankers it said were attempting to violate the US blockade by entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.
“U.S. forces disabled M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda, May 8, prior to both vessels entering an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman in violation of the ongoing U.S. blockade,” it said in a statement on social media.
Centcom claimed it had “disabled both tankers after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks”. The statement added that US forces had also disabled a third Iranian-flagged vessel on Wednesday. “All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran.”
On Thursday Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting two ships at the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas. The US insisted it struck in retaliation.
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Lorenzo Tondo
