The U.S. military says it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small boats as it moved to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates, a key American ally, said it had come under attack from Iran on Monday. It was the first such attack on the UAE since a fragile ceasefire took hold in early April. The attacks appeared to be in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's latest efforts to reopen the strait, a critical waterway for global energy. The U.S. military said two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the strait on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump says that he's "not satisfied" with Iran's latest proposal in negotiations to end war between the countries. Trump told reporters Friday at the White House that Iran wants to make a deal but he says they are asking for things he can't agree to. Trump did not elaborate on what he sees as the proposal's shortcomings. The president said negotiations have continued by phone after he called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week. He expressed frustration with Iran's leadership, describing it as fractured. The shaky three-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appears to be still holding.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed with Democratic lawmakers in Congress for a second day. At the start of a hearing Thursday in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth rejected senators' accusations that the Iran war was launched without evidence of an imminent threat and waged with no coherent strategy. He called Democratic lawmakers "reckless naysayers" and "defeatists from the cheap seats." He said they have failed to recognize the many successes of the military against the Islamic Republic over the last two months and in other operations since President Donald Trump returned to office.

Iran's national rial currency has hit a record low of 1.8 to the dollar as a shaky ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel holds. The rial had been stable for weeks during the war that began Feb. 28, partly due to limited trading and imports. Experts warn the fall of the rial is likely to further fuel inflation. Many imported goods, from food and medicine to electronics and raw materials, are affected by the dollar rate. The war is now in a ceasefire, but a U.S. naval blockade has continued to increase pressure on Iran's already battered economy.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing questioning from lawmakers as he goes before Congress for the first time since the Iran war began. Wednesday's hearing before the House Armed Services Committee is focused on the Trump administration's $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027, but Democrats are using the opportunity to grill Hegseth on the Iran war's costs, President Donald Trump's shifting justifications for the war, and the huge drawdown of critical munitions. Lawmakers from both parties also have raised concerns about Hegseth's firing of top generals and other military leaders. While a ceasefire is now in place, the U.S. and Israel launched the war Feb. 28 without congressional oversight.

U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have crippled thousands of factories in Iran, and the damage is reverberating across the country's economy. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have lost their jobs, and millions more could face the same fate. Most damaging, Israeli strikes knocked out most production of steel and petrochemicals, causing a surge in prices for metals and plastic and threatening wider sectors. Things could get worse under the U.S. blockade. Still, Iran's leaders are betting that an economy built to be self-reliant under decades of sanctions can endure the pain longer than U.S. President Donald Trump.

The United States once protected ships from Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz in the 1980s. That came during Iran's long war with Iraq. The U.S. could follow that model now and become more aggressive to protect ships passing through the strait as the ceasefire in the Iran war remains shaky and Tehran attacks vessels there. But this time it wouldn't be so easy. Military technology has advanced. The U.S. hasn't defined the same clear, narrow goals in this conflict as it did in the 1980s. And it's not clear international shippers would feel safe even with an American Navy escort given it is a combatant now.

President Donald Trump is sending his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan to meet with Iran's foreign minister as officials in the South Asian nation push to revive ceasefire talks. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that the two would meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday. Arachchi arrived in Islamabad late Friday. Leavitt says the White House hopes the talks will "move the ball forward to a deal." She says Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president's national security team will fly to Pakistan "if necessary."