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US Missile Strikes in Iran 05/26 06:17
The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out "self-defense" strikes in
southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even
as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran
were "proceeding nicely."
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out
"self-defense" strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and
boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that
negotiations with Tehran were "proceeding nicely."
The strikes were done "to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian
forces," but the military was "using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,"
Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for the U.S. military's Central Command, said
in a statement.
Further details were not immediately available, including more specifics on
the threats from Iran and what this means for negotiations. There was no
official response from Iran, which had sent its parliament speaker Mohammad
Bagher Qalibaf to Qatar for negotiations over the possible deal with the U.S.
Qatar, which faced intense attacks from Iran during the war, holds billions
of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.
In Iran, the news website Tabnak, believed to be close to former
Revolutionary Guard chief Mohsen Rezaei, identified four dead Guard troops it
said had been killed in American strikes on boats. Iranian state television
separately reported blasts around Bandar Abbas, a city on the Strait of Hormuz
home to a military port and a dual-use airport.
The strikes were the latest attacks to shake the weekslong ceasefire in the
war. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all crude oil and natural
gas traded once passed, remains effectively in Iran's chokehold, disrupting
global energy markets.
Trump brings up recognition of Israel
Earlier, Trump said any agreement to end the Iran war should include a
requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and
Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements from
Trump's first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.
The proposal came as the emerging Iran deal faced criticism from fellow
Republicans who favor a harder line on Iran, and it could add new diplomatic
complications to the negotiations.
Trump pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should
"immediately" sign on. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first
countries to join in 2020, diplomatically recognizing Israel.
He wrote that "after all the work done by the United States to try and pull
this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these
Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords."
Trump has long hoped Saudi Arabia would join. Saudi Arabia in particular has
for decades called on Israel to return to its 1967 borders and allow the
formation of a Palestinian nation with east Jerusalem as its capital. Israel's
conduct in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip also has alienated Gulf Arab
states and the wider Muslim world as well.
Pakistan remains key mediator
Recognition of a Palestinian state also remains key for Pakistan, which is
among the countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan's position on Israel
remains unchanged despite Trump's latest proposal.
The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders
during negotiations on Saturday. He said he would accept "one or two" countries
declining to sign, but said most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already
formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties. Turkey first
recognized Israel in 1949.
Masood Khan, Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States, said it
remains to be seen how workable the proposal might be for the countries on
Trump's list.
"The invocation of the Abraham Accords at this stage gives an altogether new
dimension to the diplomatic and mediatory processes because this issue was not
on the agenda," he said, pointing to the domestic pressure Trump is facing to
strike a favorable deal.
Still, Khan said, "the diplomatic track is still working, and I believe
Pakistan is very much at the center of it, supported by regional countries."
It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be completed. Trump
suggested even Iran could eventually sign on to the accords, if an agreement is
reached.
The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security agreements
created with U.S. influence during Trump's first term, which also saw Sudan,
Morocco, and, more recently, Kazakhstan, join.
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