The United States has launched strikes on southern Iran, targeting missile launch sites and boats attempting to lay mines, according to US Central Command. The attacks, described as defensive, come during the seven-week ceasefire and amid ongoing peace talks in Qatar between Iranian and American negotiators.
Iranian state media reported blasts near Bandar Abbas, a strategic port on the Strait of Hormuz, and the news website Tabnak identified four dead members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iranian authorities said the situation was under control and urged residents not to worry.
The strikes coincided with a visit to Qatar by a high-level Iranian delegation led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati. The presence of the bank governor suggests talks may focus on unfreezing Iranian assets held abroad, including in Qatar.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal remained possible despite the strikes, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen “one way or another”. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that talks were going “nicely” but warned of further attacks if they failed.
Negotiations are reportedly centred on a memorandum of understanding that would see Iran resume commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but nuclear issues would be deferred to later talks. Trump has faced criticism from Republicans who fear the emerging deal resembles the 2015 nuclear agreement he withdrew from.
