In a strategic move overnight, the United States military executed strikes targeting an Iranian military facility. Officials assessed this site as a potential risk to American troops and commercial vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking anonymously to Reuters, an official disclosed that the US military successfully intercepted and neutralized several Iranian drones presenting similar threats.
“Today, forces from US Central Command downed four Iranian one-way attack drones threatening the area around the Strait of Hormuz,” an official confirmed to Fox News.
Furthermore, US forces targeted an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was preparing to deploy a fifth drone. These defensive actions were precise, aimed at safeguarding the ceasefire.
Details of these military operations, previously undisclosed, emerged amid ongoing talks to resolve a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and significantly increased global energy costs since it erupted on February 28, following assaults by the US and Israel.
In related news, former President Donald Trump dismissed claims by Iranian state media suggesting that Iran and Oman would collaboratively oversee shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a peace agreement.
Iranian state TV reported that Washington had committed in a draft framework to lift its naval blockade, restore traffic through Hormuz and withdraw US forces from the Gulf.
The report cited what it called a draft memorandum outline, but the White House dismissed it as ‘a complete fabrication’.
The US military carried out new strikes overnight in Iran targeting a military site that officials believed posed a threat to American forces and commercial maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz
An official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the US military has also intercepted and shot down multiple Iranian drones that posed a similar threat
Trump said the waterway would remain open.
The US last carried out what it called defensive strikes against Iran on Monday, in what Iran called a violation of the countries’ fragile ceasefire.
American targets included boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites that the US military’s Central Command said posed a threat to US forces.
Trump warned Wednesday that he may have to ‘finish the job’ and Tehran said its forces were still ‘lying in wait with full magazines.’
The mixed signals underscored the fragile state of talks aimed at ending a Middle East war that has shaken global energy markets and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said a return to war was unlikely, while Trump told a televised White House cabinet meeting that Tehran wanted a deal but had not yet offered enough.
‘Iran is very much intent, they want very much to make a deal. So far they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be,’ he said.
‘Either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.’
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon
Donald Trump earlier on Wednesday dismissed an Iranian state media report that Iran and Oman would jointly manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a peace deal
Trump also appeared to direct a warning at Oman, a US ally and mediator in the conflict, when asked about a possible short-term arrangement allowing Iran and Oman to control the Strait of Hormuz.
‘No, the strait is going to be open to everybody,’ Trump said. ‘It’s international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that, they’ll be fine.’
The White House did not immediately clarify whether Trump had misspoken. Oman has played a mediation role in the war and has itself come under attack from Tehran.
Senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards official Mohammad Akbarzadeh said the likelihood of ‘war is low because of the enemy’s weakness’, but warned the military was ‘lying in wait with full magazines’ if attacked, Tasnim news agency reported.
Trump, who said at the weekend a deal was close, also told the cabinet meeting he was in no rush.
The Middle East war erupted in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, sending oil prices soaring.
Hopes of an imminent deal sent benchmark oil contracts falling more than five percent Wednesday.
Global stocks mostly rose, with all three major US indices posting modest gains and fresh records, as investors looked past conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran.
US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (L), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd L) and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) listen to US President Donald Trump (C) weigh options on Iran in a cabinet meeting
Traders were also buoyed by a retreat in US Treasury yields as oil prices fell, while another surge in technology stocks added momentum to the rally.
Economists have warned that prolonged disruption in Hormuz could keep energy prices elevated, feed inflation and force central banks to raise interest rates.
A day earlier, Iran accused the US of breaching the ceasefire after the most serious strikes since the truce took effect, and warned it was ready to retaliate.
The US military said it launched ‘self-defense strikes’ on Iranian missile sites and mine-laying boats overnight Monday to Tuesday.
Tehran’s intelligence ministry accused the US and Israel of seeking to overthrow the Islamic republic, partition Iran, foment division and carry out sabotage.
Iran and the US have traded threats for weeks while negotiating through Pakistani mediation.
Neither side appears ready to compromise on the main sticking points: Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme.
On Wednesday, the Revolutionary Guards’ navy said only ships ‘willing to abide by Iranian order’ could pass through Hormuz.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that a deal remained within reach, but that the Hormuz would be reopened ‘one way or the other’.
Iranian authorities also partially restored access to the global internet Tuesday after a three-month shutdown.
This is a developing story.
