US Conducts Strikes Near Iran as Ceasefire Talks Face Fresh Tension

U .S.forces have carried out strikes in southern Iran.The U .S.Central Command has confirmed the attack, saying it was in self -defense and that it was using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.

Earlier, explosions were heard near Bandar Abbas.An Iranian source has told Al Jazeera that the IRGC had targeted a vessel at sea followed by U .S.warplanes striking Iranian naval boats in the Gulf.Several IRGC Navy personnel were killed in that attack.A spokesperson for U .

S.Central Command has told Al Jazeera, we continue to defend our forces while exercising restraint during the ceasefire.The strikes targeted rocket platforms and Iranian boats that were attempting to lay mines.The strikes were carried out to protect U .S.forces from threats posed by Iranian forces.

Now, earlier, Iran had warned that despite some progress, a deal on ending the war with the US is, quote, not imminent.The top Iranian parliament official said the Strait of Hormuz will remain under Tehran's control after the war.

Listen.One of the fundamental pillars of these victories by our great and remarkable nation is our geopolitics, the Strait of Hormuz.We will never take this into negotiations the way we did with the nuclear issue.What is currently envisaged is that if the American blockade is lifted, then transit through the Strait of Hormuz will take place under arrangements determined by the Islamic Republic of Iran, and only for non -military and non -hostile traffic.Iran claims about reopening the strait or returning to its previous situation and so on, but that is not what it means at all.This is the clear emphasis of our people and the determination of the authorities.

And Trump also says there's no rush to reach an agreement.He says Tehran's enriched nuclear material will be removed to the U .S.or destroyed within Iran.Speaking at a Memorial Day event in Arlington earlier, the U .to 13 service members killed in the war with Iran. Listen.

Listen.In Operation Epic Fury, we lost 13 wonderful souls, wonderful, special people.These incredible men and women gave their lives to ensure that the world's number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon.Oh, and they won't.They will never have a nuclear weapon.I'm sure you know that.

Now, all this comes as Tehran's top negotiator and foreign minister arrived in Doha for talks to discuss the remaining sticking points.All right, let's go now to our chief U .S.correspondent, Alan Fishers.So, Alan, obviously, we've been talking about these talks, but overshadowing those, at least for this moment, is these strikes near Bandar Abbas.What else are the Americans saying about that situation?

Well, CENTCOM, which coordinates all the U .S.military operations in the region, in and around Iran, have put out the statement in the last couple of hours, saying that these incidents happened within the last 24 hours, essentially saying that this was to protect U .S.forces.Now, they're not saying that U .

S.forces came under attack.what they're alleging is that the United States took action, particularly around missile sites and also boats that were possibly going to lay mines as a preventative measure to protect the troops in that region.Now, we know they've done this sort of thing before.Very early on in the ceasefire, this sort of thing happened.At that stage, the United States said it hadn't graduated to a breach of the ceasefire because there were no casualties.

And yet again in this incident, the United States says that no U .S.service personnel were injured or were killed.So that would seem to suggest that, again, this won't reach the level of a breach of ceasefire, but it was action the United States said was to defendtheir forces while using restraint particularly around Bandar Abbas.So it's not going to derail the talks underway at the moment involving several countries but clearly it is a concerning moment for both countries and a reminder that the US military force still hasn't gone away.

So Alan, we had been over the last couple of days on high alert for some word of a possible deal being reached.Now it seems like both sides are kind of telling us to manage our expectations a little bit.Are there any indications at this stage that a deal could in fact be announced soon?

Well, to be clear, the expectation was coming from social media posts by Donald Trump, who was suggesting that a deal was very close.And we had Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State in India, saying that he expected good news possibly today, when he said that on Saturday, or maybe even tomorrow.Here we are on Monday, and we are told from sources in and around the White House that they're about 95 % of the way there.But of course, there's a big difference between 95 % and 100%.There's a lot still to be done.to that we're not quite on the verge of a deal.

And you also have to remember that Donald Trump has several times in the past said that we're very close to a deal, we're almost over the line, and we've found out that there is an issue, or there's a voice in his ear.or there's some level of complaint and certainly the drafts of the deal that were circulating around at the weekend came in for a lot of criticism from people who would normally be naturally aligned with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.So 95 % we're told but that 5 % is still proving to be very elusive.

The wait continues.Al Jazeera's chief US correspondent Alan Fisher for us at the White House.Alan, thank you.All right, Adam Clements is a former diplomat and Pentagon official, and he joins us now from Washington.Thank you so much for being here, sir.This incident, these strikes near Bandar Abbas in Iran, is this likely to have any impact on the negotiations that are happening right now?

Thank you.I certainly don't think that they are inconsequential, but I do think at this point we should take a pause to try to understand what are the tactical operational aspects of what's still going on in and around the Straits of Hormuz.that the U .S.is still conducting its blockade, that it seems like Iran is still trying to posture itself conducting some operations, and then separate that from the strategic level of some of the diplomatic engagements that are ongoing.I don't think that necessarily just because this incident has occurred that means that the negotiations, the formal diplomatic negotiations, would fall apart.

I think it does seem reasonable to think that the U .S.forces, in lines with their—what we call in the military some type of engagement, of rules of engagement, that they would defend themselves.No doubt that both sides, especially the U .S., is conducting a lot of intelligence collection and understanding the force posture of Iranian maritime assets, air assets.

be it drones or missile and rocket capabilities, and watching that very closely.And that seems to be what the U .S.acted on.And I think it would be very important in the coming hours to see if President Trump says anything specific about what's happened, if CENTCOM, United States Central Command, who's in charge of the Middle East from a U .S.

military perspective, if it says something else, and then to watch some of the public or maybe private statements that come out in the press of these negotiations that are about to occur, hopefully, in Qatar.

Adam, if you take the U .S.statement, at face value.The U .S.says that the Iranians were laying mines in the Gulf or around the Strait of Hormuz.

The U .S.reacted accordingly.

So in your opinion, which side was playing with fire here?Of course, you can call me biased of being in the U .S.military for 20 plus years.I think any time that any country is laying mines, in a waterway, a national or a international waterway, that that would seem to solicit some type of response, a lethal response.And I—so, in this case, I think that it should not come as a surprise to the Iranians that the U .

S.would act this way.Of course, we don't know all the intelligence that the U .S.is watching.We don't know what Iran is watching as well.

also an act of war or act of open hostilities.But the point is, is if both sides can keep on the same path here of at least talking openly, of having some type of formal diplomatic discussions, even if they are To that 95 % not 200 % yet as your correspondent said yeah, that's positive that there's not another day of Open conflict or another air camping.

Yeah, Adam the American president Donald Trump posted on truth social today suggesting that several countries in the Middle East long list of them actually joined the Abraham Accords and Normalized relations with Israel as part of a broader deal with Iran.Why do you think that he's trying to?introduce a new element into this deal?Has he overcomplicated things or is this really a possibility?

I don't know.I was also wondering about this as well before we came on air.And I think for right now, it's probably given the context of Gaza, what has happened there, I still think it's probably because those what's happened there is still so fresh, still so unresolved that I think it's probably too much of an ask.But nevertheless, the president of course, is going to air this as far as shaping comments, we'll say, to try to message Gulf states, probably Saudi Arabia being the number one recipient of some of those comments.I think, too, it's rightful to also consider that, given this conflict and the new dynamic to what's taken place in the last few years in the Middle East, is, of course, a lot of states are reconsidering a lot of their relationships.Of course, the Emiratis, for the first time, having Israelis and Israeli forces that have helped defend them.

of course, Pakistan and that defense pact.So there are a lot of dynamics at play here.And I think at this point, it's probably too much to take on right now as far as expanding the Abraham Accords.But that's just my hunch.And I'm just trying to figure things out, as you are also.

As we are.All right, Adam Clements, a former diplomat and Pentagon official, joining us from Washington.Adam, we appreciate the insight.Thank you.