US IRAN WAR: In a “self-defence” move, U.S. military forces have struck new targets in southern Iran, this time at Iranian missile sites and boats that were trying to lay mines, it said. The assault on the city coincided with negotiations involving the top Iranian negotiators in Doha with Qatar’s prime minister on a possible agreement to end the three-month-old war between the US and Israel and Tehran. In a statement, US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed the new strikes were carried out in “self-defence” to “defend our troops from threats by Iranian forces”.
US attacks Iran in ‘self-defence’
During the current ceasefire, the U.S. military “continues to protect our forces, but is exercising restraint in the process,” said Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. In a statement in the New York Times, he indicated that the U.S. target was a location close to Bandar Abbas, a port city in the South, where Iran has a naval base, located on the Strait of Hormuz.
The talks will not immediately result in a deal, according to U.S. media reports. Some very tricky negotiations will follow on other subjects such as Iranian sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian money and the U.S. demands for Iran to rein in its nuclear efforts.
What did Trump say?
While speaking over the weekend, US President Donald Trump mentioned that both parties may be very near to reaching an agreement, only to later announce that he had ordered the negotiators not to hurry with signing it.
The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also stated that an agreement might be reached as early as tomorrow. However, Baqai noted: “It is true that we have managed to reach a conclusion in the majority of issues discussed… But it cannot be claimed that we are just about to sign an agreement because of that.”
What happened to the US-IRAN ceasefire?
Since 8 April, the US troops and Iranian forces stopped military activity against each other and entered a ceasefire stage. Iran controls the transit of ships in the Gulf area, while the US Navy tries to prevent Iranian ships from entering Iran’s ports.
On 28 February, the US and Israeli forces carried out massive strikes against Iran, which resulted in military actions unfolding all across the region. In response, Iran attacked its allies and opened fire against Israel and US-led coalition in the region, causing them to block the Strait of Hormuz.
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With 13 years on the line, Ashish Kumar Singh loves everything when it comes to movies, music, travel and pop culture. Formerly employed at ANI, Pinkvilla, India Today and HT, Ashish has interviewed some of the top celebrities of India, including Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, among others. Breaking news excites him and deadlines are what he chases. Interviewing comes naturally to him. Hit him up at ashish.kumar02singh@gmail.com.
