Amid ongoing peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran, the US military on Wednesday carried out its second strike against Iran this week, targeting a site it claimed posed a threat to American forces and commercial shipping in the region.
The US forces shot down four Iranian drones and struck a base that was about to launch a fifth drone, the Associated Press reported quoting two US officials.
Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that three explosions were heard east of Bandar Abbas, the strategically important port city located near the Strait of Hormuz.
US officials described the actions as “measured” and “purely defensive,” saying they were intended to maintain the ceasefire and safeguard regional stability.
The strikes reportedly followed an incident in which four vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz came under fire from Iranian forces and were forced to turn back early Thursday morning local time.
Meanwhile, Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed that the IRGC Navy had fired warning shots at an “American oil tanker,” compelling it to reverse course, CNN reported.
Earlier this week, the US military also launched strikes on Iranian missile launch sites and boats near the Strait of Hormuz, describing the operation as a series of “self-defence strikes.”
US Central Command said those attacks were aimed at “protecting our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”
Amid the escalating tensions, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran was “negotiating on fumes” and asserted that the upcoming November midterm elections would not pressure his administration into rushing a deal to end the nearly three-month-long conflict that has unsettled the global economy.
Trump also expressed confidence that a breakthrough could be close. Over the weekend, he claimed that Washington and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a settlement, although talks remain fluid and unresolved.