By Enas Alashray and Patricia Zengerle DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - Hostilities in the Gulf erupted anew on Wednesday with a report of missile attacks on Kuwait, while little progress was evident in diplomatic talks between Iran and the United States.

The Trump administration has placed sanctions on Iran's largest digital asset exchange, Nobitex, and three others.

The US says it has struck and "disabled an unladen oil tanker" that was sailing towards Iran, as part of Washington's naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command (Centcom) said a US aircraft fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of the Botswana-flagged M/T vessel, after its crew "ignored repeated warnings".

The GOP senator had voiced worries about a deal with Iran and railed against the so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund weeks ago.

About a month after ejecting during the friendly-fire incident, the pilot was on a mission over Iran when his jet was hit by a surface-to-air missile, prompting a daring rescue operation.

The secretary of state will testify publicly for the first time since the war began, as the regional conflict worsens and lawmaker patience runs thin.

Israel’s hostilities against Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire agreement, threatened to upend U.S. efforts toward a peace pact with Iran.

Year-on-year inflation in Iran reached a level in May unseen since World War II, underlining the economic pain average Iranians face as the Islamic Republic worries about the war with Israel and the United States restarting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that he is optimistic about the potential for a resumption in nuclear talks with Iran despite a shaky ceasefire in the war that is looking increasingly in doubt.

President Donald Trump is demanding that Tehran put specific nuclear concessions down in writing as part of a preliminary agreement aimed at pushing past the drawn-out deadlock between the U.S. and Iran, U.S. officials and another source familiar with the matter tell ABC News.