US strikes Iranian site near Strait of Hormuz, says it acted in self-defense

The strikes were taken in self-defense and were designed to protect US troops from threats posed by Iranian forces, US Central Command said in a statement.

Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said the US military continues to defend its forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire between the two countries.

Iran has not yet responded to the US attack. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said earlier that while some progress had been made in talks to end the war, a deal is not imminent.

It is unclear what impact the strikes will have on any potential peace agreement between the US and Iran.

Following the strikes, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal was still possible and pointed to talks on Tuesday between Iran's top negotiator and foreign minister and Qatar's prime minister.

We'll see if we can make progress. I think it's a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it'll take a few days, Rubio told reporters during an official visit to India.

Asked again later about Monday's strikes, Rubio said the straits have to be open. They're going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open. What's happening there is unlawful, it's illegal, it's unsustainable for the world, it's unacceptable.

Capt. Hawkins said the US strikes targeted an area near Bandar Abbas, a southern port city and home of an Iranian naval base that sits on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the New York Times.

Earlier in May, a clash between Iranian and US naval destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz, for which each side blamed the other, led Trump to insist a ceasefire was still in place.

At the weekend, Trump had suggested the sides were close to a deal, but later said he had instructed negotiators not to rush into one, while Rubio had said an agreement could possibly be reached on Monday.

But Baqai responded: It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion. But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent, no one can make such a claim.

The memorandum of understanding being discussed reportedly involves a 60-day ceasefire extension, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a plan for further negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme.

CBS News, the BBC's US partner, has reported that US intelligence believes Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was injured in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war which killed his father and predecessor, is holed up in an undisclosed location, making communication with his envoys difficult and therefore delaying the pace of talks with the US.

According to US media, the discussions will not immediately lead to a final settlement. Contentious issues will likely be negotiated later, including details of Iranian sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian funds, and US demands for Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions.

At the start of the war, Iran is thought to have had about 440kg of uranium that was enriched up to 60% purity, a short process away from being enriched further to the weapons-grade 90%, which theoretically could allow it to create a nuclear bomb.