The United States has carried out new strikes on an Iranian military site allegedly posing a threat to US forces and maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to news reports.
Iranian media have reported that US forces struck near the Bandar Abbas port, causing no damage or casualties.
US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed its forces also shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones “that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz”.
It said they targeted the Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas as it was about to launch a fifth drone. Iranian media reported that explosions were heard to the east of the city.
The strikes come amid a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran, and protracted negotiations to end the three-month war that has choked traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and shot up global energy prices.
Centcom described its actions as “measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire”.
During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said that Iran is “negotiating on fumes”, insisting that his war strategy will not be impacted by November’s US midterm elections.
“Maybe we have to go back and finish it, maybe we don’t,” he said.
During that meeting, the president also urged Gulf nations to sign on to the Abraham Accords to normalise relations with Israel, which launched the war with the US on 28 February and is also embroiled in a war with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Israeli military has issued forced displacement orders for the entire population of southern Lebanon, threatening them to flee north of the Zahrani River, some 40km (25 miles) from Israel’s border, as all areas south of the river are now “combat zones“.
Aid agencies warn of an “absolute catastrophe” in southern Lebanon amid Israel’s attacks and its intensifying ground invasion.
Washington and Tehran have issued conflicting statements on negotiations to end the US-Israel war on Iran: US President Donald Trump said there would be no easing of sanctions on Iran, while Iranian state media reported that a potential deal involved the US lifting the naval blockade on Iran’s ports and the Strait of Hormuz reopening to pre-war levels of maritime traffic within 30 days.
Source: News Agencies
