- Missile sites and mine-laying boats were attacked.
- New strikes threaten hopes for a deal between the United States and Iran.
- Oil markets have been shaken after US strikes in southern Iran.
WASHINGTON: US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats attempting to lay mines on Monday, US Central Command said, jeopardizing a fragile ceasefire and casting fresh doubt on a deal to end the Middle East war.
The strikes came as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for the latest round of talks aimed at ending a months-long conflict, and as the Israeli military intensified hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Oil prices have fluctuated following the U.S. strikes, which could threaten any deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where the Iranian blockade has choked off global fuel supplies.
“US forces today conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement.
It gave no details of the attacks and only said the targets included missile launch sites and boats attempting to “place mines.”
Iranian public broadcaster IRIB reported that several loud explosions were heard near Bandar Abbas around midnight local time (2030 GMT Monday).
He added that the situation in the southern port city was normal and that local authorities were investigating the cause of the explosions.
The strikes threaten a ceasefire that began April 8, as the United States and Iran struggle to reach a deal ending a war that has rocked the global economy with severe disruption of energy flows.
Oil prices remained below $100 Tuesday morning, with West Texas Intermediate falling more than 5% while international benchmark Brent crude was higher.
Hopes for a deal took a further blow when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has demanded that any peace deal also apply to the fighting in Lebanon.
Trump also said in a social media post that he expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the United States for destruction, or to have it destroyed in Iran with an international witness.
“The enriched uranium (nuclear dust!) will either be immediately delivered to the United States for return home and destruction, or, preferably, in collaboration and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed on site or, in another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, witnessing this process and event,” Trump wrote.
It was unclear whether he meant it would be part of a potential deal with Iran, and the commission he cited was abolished in 1974.
Earlier Monday, Trump said it should be mandatory for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain and Jordan to sign the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements negotiated in 2020 with countries historically hostile to Israel, as part of a peace deal with Iran.
Trump said he spoke to the leaders of those countries on Saturday about efforts to end the war. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have already signed the agreements, alongside Morocco and Sudan.
The ceasefire between the United States and Iran holds as diplomats push for a negotiated settlement, although Iran has maintained control of Gulf shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. Navy has sought to blockade Iranian ports.
Although the Abraham Accords have been well received by some, they remain deeply unpopular in many parts of the Middle East – in part because they fail to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Gulf heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have said they will never normalize relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is created.
“Go crazy”
Anna Jacobs, of the Arab Institute for the Gulf States in Washington, said Gulf countries were unlikely to comply with Trump’s latest demand.
“The national security of the Gulf states has been threatened more than ever due to President Trump’s reckless decisions, and he hopes that the Arab states will thank him and normalize their relations with Israel, which they will not do at this point,” she said.
Trump’s maximalist demand came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested a deal could be reached within the day.
“We thought we would have news last night, maybe today,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to New Delhi.
But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei dashed hopes of a quick final settlement.
“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on many of the issues under discussion,” he told a weekly press briefing.
“But to say that this means that the signing of a deal is imminent, no one can make such a statement.”
“Critical moment”
Netanyahu said Monday he had ordered the army to step up its offensive in Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of targeting Israeli forces with drone attacks.
“I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations,” Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on his Telegram channel.
The Israeli leader said Sunday that he and Trump agreed that “any final deal with Iran must completely eliminate the nuclear threat” before peace can be reached.
Iranian officials have stressed that despite the United States’ long-standing demand to end uranium enrichment, negotiations on the issue of the Islamic republic’s nuclear program have been postponed until an initial agreement is reached.
