The U.S. military on Wednesday conducted new strikes on an Iranian military site that officials said posed a threat to American forces and commercial maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz near Bandar Abbas.
The report of new strikes comes as the United States and Iran inch forward with a peace deal that seeks to end the war, with both countries disputing the terms of a supposed deal.
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Iran had fired four one-way drones at a U.S. Navy ship and a commercial ship, Axios reported. U.S. forces intercepted the Iranian drones and attacked a drone-launch team before it could deploy its weapon.
President Donald Trump has made clear several stipulations that must be included in any peace deal, including that Iran cannot pursue nuclear weapons and that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open.
Iranian state media on Wednesday published details of a draft peace proposal calling for the reopening of the strait and for the U.S. to lift its naval blockade. The waterway between Iran and Oman is a crucial shipping lane for the world’s oil supply, which significantly benefits Iran financially.
The Trump administration poured cold water on Iranian state media claims, calling the supposed deal a “complete fabrication.”
During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump said the deal would be “perfect” and that he would not agree to a “crummy deal.” He has previously said a peace deal has been “largely negotiated.”
The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a central complicating factor to any agreement between the two countries. The U.S. has reportedly taken a “no-dust, no-dollars” approach, meaning Iran does not get rewarded with the waterway unless the administration actually sees the regime taking action and giving up its uranium stockpile, which Trump has called “nuclear dust.”
Wednesday’s reported strikes mark the second action carried out by U.S. forces against Iran this week.
On Monday, U.S. Central Command launched self-defense strikes on Iranian boats attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz and other missile launch sites. CENTCOM claimed Iran has continued laying sea mines in the waterway despite the peace negotiations.
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It is unclear to what extent the fragile ceasefire is still in effect following its implementation at the beginning of April. The ceasefire was meant to allow for negotiations to take place.
After over a month of peace negotiations taking place, it is unclear if the U.S. and Iran are as close as previously stated to an agreement to end the monthslong war.
