US-Iran War: US Opens Fire on Iranian Ships, Trump Warns of Even Violent Retaliation | WORLD DNA

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]Now fetch clashes broke out between Iranian and US naval forces in the street of Hormuz, marking the latest flare up despite a fragile ceasefire.

[00:00:09]Iran semiofficial forest news agency reported sporadic clashes between Iranian armed forces and American vessels and the fighting came as President Donald Trump said he was awaiting Thran's reply to his latest proposal to end the war. Now, a US fighter jet on Friday disabled at least two Iranian flag tankers, prompting retaliatory attacks. US Central Command said that an FA18 Super Hornet used precision munitions against two ships in the Gulf of Oman. These Iranian flag tankers were identified as Sea Star 3 and Sevda. An Iranian military official told local media the country's navy had responded to the violation of the ceasefire and to American terrorism with strikes and the clashes have now seized.

[00:00:55]Iran and the US had engaged in a similar showdown a day earlier with US military targeting an Iranian tanker and another ship in the street.

[00:01:05]Iran retaliated by launching missiles, drones and small boats at at three American warships.

[00:01:15]The Americans have understood since last night that their display of a naval blockade will from now on be met with a military response from the Islamic Republic of Iran. No one can any longer take military action against our ships and expected to go unanswered.

[00:01:30]>> Meanwhile, satellite images show that an oil slick is spreading off the coast of Iran's Kar Island. It was not immediately clear what had caused the apparent spill. Khar Island is at the heart of Iran's oil export industry, a lynch pin of the country's battered economy and lies north of the street of Hormuz. Now, during the war, Iran has largely closed the street, throwing global markets into turmoil and driving up oil prices. An Iranian official compared the influence of the Strait of Hormuz to an atomic bomb.

[00:02:05]On the issue of the straight of Hormuz, for years we neglected this advantage.

[00:02:11]In reality, it is a capability on the level of an atomic bomb. When you hold a position from which a single decision can affect the entire global economy, that is an extremely great capability.

[00:02:25]What we have gained through this war, we will by no means give up.

[00:02:33]US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that it was unacceptable for Thran to control the crucial oil conduit. Speaking to reporters in Rome, Rubio said Washington was expecting Iran's response to its latest proposal later soon.

[00:02:48]>> Well, we should know something today. I mean, we're expecting a response from them. We'll see what the response entails. Uh the hope is it's something that it can put us into a serious process of negotiation.

[00:02:58]>> And Trump at the White House later added and I'm quoting, "I'm getting a little a letter supposedly tonight. So we will h see how that goes." NQA's prime minister Sheik Muhammad bin Abdul Ramani met with US Vice President JD Vance in Washington and discussed efforts to broker permanent peace. Iran has repeatedly attacked sites in Qatar during the war, pointing to its role as host of a major US air base.

[00:03:33]All right, to discuss more, we're now being joined live by Professor James A.

[00:03:36]Russell from Ontarian, California. He's emiritist professor at the Naval Postgraduate School. Thank you so much for uh coming on the broadcast. Always a pleasure talking to you. Um and I'll begin with President Donald Trump who said that he's expecting a response from the Iran soon on the agreement to end the war. Uh with the differences that do stay between the two countries regarding this deal. Um what should this deal actually inculcate for and and show a middle way so that this deal actually goes through according to you?

[00:04:05]Um well, it seems to me that um there are clear ways ahead um which um the United States uh and Iran have significant disagreements over Iran's nuclear program. There are serious disagreements over uh Iran's control over the street of Hormuz. There are serious disagreements over uh Iran's support for uh proxy forces across the region. There are serious disagreements about between Iran and the United States and the Israelis over the conduct of the war in Lebanon. So I don't think we can underestimate the the gravity of the diplomatic task that uh faces these sides.

[00:04:50]um just observing what's been going on.

[00:04:53]I I wish I thought uh the United States was serious about actually drawing upon diplomacy uh to address these differences. Um the United States has a uh I can speak from some experience has a has a wellspring of of dedicated experts in the State Department that have built that that we the country has built up over the years.

[00:05:20]um that could engage with their Iranian inter interlocutors across this wide spectrum of different issues and figure out uh for example uh if sanctions relief by the United States could be offered up as some in some sort of quid proquo uh set of arrangements and after all the task of diplomacy of course is to explore issues of commonality issues of differences issues of compromise and um the my reason for going on into this a little bit is to say that I don't believe that there is any process like this that is now unfolding. we are ex instead exchanging pieces of paper uh that that it would really be nice to know what's on those pieces of paper but it's simply to point out that you cannot expect uh these uh kind of deep disagreements to be solved this way that h there has to be a an established diplomatic process where experts sit down together to try to resolve these quite complicated issues. So I and all of us around the world can only hope that this is what comes next, but it's hard to have confidence in in when we're still shooting at each other when there is no actual real ceasefire. Uh and uh and it doesn't appear that the United States is really interested in any way in addressing Iran's. [music] >> Right. Absolutely. I was actually going to come to this the skirmishes and clashes because while as you mentioned while the talks are going on Iran semi official forest news agency has reported the sporadic clashes between Iran and armed forces and American vessels. Um are these indications of escalation or this is just a pressure play on the part of US um that doesn't really pose much of an escalation but just a [music] pressure tactic from the US on Iran while this talks take place. Um it it's a great question of course and it's and it is really the question is wrapped up in this sort of broader issue in which what how do the parties in this dispute view the role of force in the resolution of the disputes and uh I would say from the very beginning of this whole war now going on for a couple of months that the United States has clung to this belief that military force can have some kind of constructive slashf facilitating role in resolving these issues in its favor.

[00:07:57]And if anything, the last several months of war have again demonstrated that there is no military solution to the problems that have been created over the course of the conflict. Um, in other words, additional uh uh uh exchanges of fire.

[00:08:18]>> The United States disabling Iranian ships, the United States launching more air strikes is not going to suddenly, in my opinion, um lead to a more fruitful line of negotiation with the Iranians and make them more willing to offer meaningful concessions on the various issues that still divide. us. Um, and and and I don't want to leave this out because I think this is also important, but on Thursday night, uh, President Donald Trump made a veiled reference again to the use of nuclear weapons.

[00:08:53]>> You know, uh, even a casual reference like this has absolutely no place in in political, diplomatic, or military discourse between adversaries. In fact, it's not supposed to happen at all under the terms of the non-prololiferation treaty. So again, it appears the United States continues to believe that that tactical applications of force in these circumstances can somehow lead to a political advantage somehow. And if if the for the United States, but if the last several months have told us anything, it's that the Iranians simply respond in kind. Um and the war goes on and it's very regrettable um for the entire world community, of course, to watch all of this as Donald Trump apparently appears willing to hold the entire world economy hostage uh uh in this process. Um And sorry >> no absolutely of course I was again Donald Trump has and time and again downplayed these attacks and he called it trifle. Um on the other hand secretary of state Marco Rubio has also reiterated that it was unacceptable for Iran to control this crucial conduit which is of course the state of Hormuz which is of course impacting as you said the global economy. Um do you think these clashes are somehow an attempt to also build pressure into opening the state of Hormuz?

[00:10:23]I don't think there's any question that that's what they are about. Um they are an attempt in a sense to recreate this this uh period of history that happened under what was then called Operation Earnest Will >> uh in the 1980s during the Iran Iraq war when the United States at the request of the Kuwaiti government took on the job of escorting uh oil tankers through the strait um uh and out of the of the Persian Gulf. So, we fast forward to the circumstance that exists today. Um, and it's clear that the United States Navy can't do that today. In other words, there's no real way of using naval power >> as you did back in the 1980s to force the passage of the strait. Uh and the reason is that today of course Iran has a a a significant battery of landbased anti-ship missiles and various ballistic missiles and cruise missiles that it can use to disable the escorting ships.

[00:11:32]>> Um so it's why the United States Navy of course has for the most part been operating hundreds of mile offshore out of the range of Iranian missiles. This was a capability that was not necessarily available to the Iranians all those many years ago. But it does come down to this as your as your as you referenced in your report that the straight of hormuz is really the critical issue at this point in this dispute. And again, it's astonishing uh I'm as someone such as myself that worked in the system uh in the Pentagon many years ago >> that that the Trump administration didn't seem to consider that this was something that the Iranians could do when there's on the on the shelves of war games that have been conducted for the last 50 odd years. This was always one of the the first things everyone thought the Iranians would do that they would close the straight. But this but of course the Trump administration apparently did not believe this would happen and now is playing catch-up. Uh and of course it's too late. There's nothing [music] we can do militarily to reopen the straight except land first and second marine divisions and the the the army big red one thousands of troops to secure the straight and the possibility of that I would respectfully suggest is somewhere between zero and none. M >> so the United States is left with no military options u no escalatory military options to reopen the strait uh at this at this stage of the game and the Iranians have correctly perceived of course that the strait is their its strategic leverage they're fighting the war at the strategic level as opposed to the United States which is stuck with operations and tactics uh and uh that's never going to prevail.

[00:13:30]>> Right. But how far do you think can Iran go into withstanding this naval armada of US? Because we've seen just latest Iran media has reported that these clashes happened and they have also attacked uh in the in the Gulf of Oman.

[00:13:44]Now these Iranian flag tankers were attacked in Gulf of Man and disabled. So how long do you think Iran can withstand? Because it's not just a global economy that's impacted, it's Iran that's impacted itself.

[00:13:55]>> Oh, absolutely. Um what the the the another way of formulating this point this excellent point of yours is to say what is the level of pain >> uh that the that each of the antagonists uh can can uh take on or is willing to endure in this kind of situation. And the Central Intelligence Agency, this is according to the Washington Post, recently concluded uh that Iran could withstand this blockade for months.

[00:14:27]>> Uh and um of course, is this a correct uh assessment? We don't know, of course, but it's one guess uh again by I I presume in the in the case of the Central Intelligence Agency again stocked stuffed full of some of the smartest people that money can buy coming up with these kinds of assessments.

[00:14:50]>> And again, the record of Iran today uh is that they have endured uh all of the American and Israeli military measures.

[00:15:02]And I would also hasten to add that one of the characteristics of uh the unsuccessful and uh ill- advised American uh use of force uh across the Persian Gulf in the Middle East or over the last quarter odd century now is that there is a single sort of def a single defining characteristic to that use of force which was that we underestimated our enemies. We we assumed they weak and that we were strong and that our military strength would allow us to prevail when of course ex exactly the opposite happened.

[00:15:38]>> The United I understand your point of course you described really well and of course considering the fact that now there are clashes happening but at the same time there are talks happening. We could only wait and see and hope for talks to succeed more than the military clashes there. But thank you so much professor Russell. Always a pleasure talking to you. So, [music] thank you for explaining all of that um wonderfully for us.

[00:15:59]>> Thank you for having me.