Top U.S. officials said Tuesday that the ceasefire with Iran has not ended, despite exchanges of fire in the Strait of Hormuz. Both Rubio and Hegseth said the U.S. was in a new phase of operations designed to ensure safe passage for commercial vessels stuck in the Persian Gulf.

Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is fully open to commercial vessels. But President Donald Trump says the American blockade on Iranian ships and ports will stay in force until Tehran reaches a deal with the U.

The U.S. is racing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as Iran reportedly lays mines in the critical waterway, testing the Navy's shift to unmanned systems.

US forces disabled two Iranian oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after overnight exchanges of fire with Iranian forces, while the UAE reported fresh missile and drone attacks that injured three people.

Ships in the Strait of Hormuz might be the only things that aren’t moving

The U.S. conducted strikes against at least two locations in Iran on Thursday, a U.S. official said. The strikes in Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island were defensive, the official said, and do not constitute a resumption of major combat operations against Iran.

June WTI crude oil (CLM26 ) on Thursday closed down -0.27 (-0.28%), and June RBOB gasoline (RBM26 ) closed down -0.0033 (-0.10%). Crude oil and gasoline prices closed lower on Thursday on optimism that a US-Iran peace deal is imminent.