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The United States carried out strikes in southern Iran on Monday, targeting missile launch sites and boats allegedly attempting to lay mines near the Strait of Hormuz, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington and Tehran were moving closer to a possible agreement to end months of conflict.
U.S. Central Command described the operation as a defensive move aimed at protecting American forces during an ongoing ceasefire, saying the strikes targeted missile launch sites and Iranian boats allegedly attempting to place mines in the strategic waterway.
"U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces," CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins told Fox News. "U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire."
Iranian media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas as well as areas near Sirik and Jask along the Gulf coast following the strikes. Local residents told Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency that several blasts were heard almost simultaneously, although officials did not immediately clarify the exact source or location.
Far later reported that U.S. and Israeli aircraft struck Iranian vessels south of Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, reportedly killing four Iranians, although authorities did not officially confirm the casualties.
The latest developments added to tensions as multiple exchanges of fire took place despite the ceasefire reached in early April and as recent diplomatic efforts led by Pakistani mediators and Gulf countries pushed toward a preliminary deal to end the conflict.
Speaking to reporters on his way to New Delhi on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled that negotiations over a possible agreement were nearing completion, though some issues still needed to be ironed out.
"I think there’s strong alignment and agreement on what a preliminary draft should look like," Rubio noted, adding that final talks could still take "a couple of days" because of disagreements over wording and details. "If there’s going to be a deal, we’re going to have to work through that, but this is either going to be a good deal, or there isn’t going to be one," he added.
Rubio also pushed back against Iran’s attempts to restrict commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, calling the move illegal and unsustainable.
"There’s no country in the world that’s in favor of the tolling system, except the regime in Iran," Rubio said. "The straits need to be open, unimpeded, without tolls."
The remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium would either be handed over to Washington for destruction or eliminated under international supervision inside Iran or at another approved location.
"The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Earlier Monday, Pakistani Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that a US-Iran agreement was "close to being reached," according to Chinese state media, as Islamabad stepped up mediation efforts between the two sides.
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