US bombs Iranian forces attempting to mine Strait of Hormuz

US says ceasefire still in place after American forces took defensive actions against Iranian missile launchers and minelayer vessels.

By World Israel News Staff

The US military carried out strikes in southern Iran on Monday against missile launch sites and Iranian boats it said were trying to lay mines, injecting fresh volatility into negotiations aimed at turning a fragile ceasefire into a broader agreement with Tehran.

US Central Command said the strikes were defensive and were intended “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said the targets included “missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines,” adding that US forces were “using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”

The operation came as Washington and Tehran continued indirect negotiations over an emerging framework that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, extend the ceasefire and address Iran’s nuclear program.

The talks have not produced a final agreement, and US officials have warned that the details may still take days to complete.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waterway “has to be open, one way or the other,” underscoring the central role of the strait in the talks after weeks of disruptions to shipping and energy markets.

President Donald Trump said separately that negotiations with Iran were “proceeding nicely,” but he warned that any agreement would have to be substantial. Israeli media cited his statement saying the talks would produce either “a great deal for all” or no deal, in which case the sides would return to fighting “bigger and stronger than ever.”

Trump has also insisted that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile be either transferred to the United States for destruction or destroyed under international supervision.

“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably,” destroyed in coordination with Iran and witnessed by the “Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent,” he wrote.

At the same time, Trump has sought to attach a separate diplomatic demand to the Iran file: a major expansion of the Abraham Accords. He said Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan should move toward formal normalization with Israel as part of the broader regional settlement.

“I am mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote, adding that if Iran signs an agreement with him, “it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition.”

Opposition-linked outlets reported that explosions were heard around Bandar Abbas and other areas in southern Iran after the US strikes, amid reports of clashes between Iranian security forces and protesters in several cities.