U.S. military says it conducted strikes against targets in Iran
The U.S. military struck targets in Iran near the Strait of Hormuz in what a spokesman for the military said Monday were acts of self-defense.
Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said the attacks were “self-defense strikes” and included “missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines.”
The strikes were in Bandar Abbas, in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, a defense official said.
There was no announcement of any change in the temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, which went into effect April 8.
“U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” Hawkins said.
Semi-official Iranian media reported explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas city and the coastal areas near the strait, Reuters reported.
Iran’s Mehr news agency said that the situation in Bandar Abbas was under control and that there was no cause for concern, according to Reuters.
There have been talks between Iran and the U.S. about ending the war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
Earlier Monday, Iran said an agreement to end the war was not imminent after President Donald Trump raised and then lowered expectations that a deal may be close.
Also Monday, Trump demanded a resolution to enriched uranium inside Iran, a key sticking point in the ongoing negotiations to end the war. The president has repeatedly called for Iran’s current stockpile to be removed from the country and sent to either the U.S. or another location.
Trump said on social media Monday that the material “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 or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event.”
A senior White House official told NBC News this is not a new position for the president and does not reflect any demand that hasn’t already been communicated to the Iranians.
Iran closed the vital Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. military blocked Iranian ports, and the disruption in maritime traffic has caused fuel prices to increase globally.
Garrett Haake and Megan Shannon contributed.
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