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The US military said he started several protests near the Strait of Hormuz where an Iranian delegation led by officials went to Qatar to negotiate an end to the US-Israel war on Iran.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said it did so “Defense beats“Protecting U.S. forces from threats posed by Iranian forces.” However, it did not give details about the demonstrations and the locations where they took place. Iranian media reports that an explosion has occurred in Bandar Abbas, about 70km (42 miles) from the Strait of Hormuz, in southern Iran.
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The latest attacks come despite Pakistan’s ceasefire since April 8, and hopes for an end to the war that has caused a global power crisis.
On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that “a large part” of the problem with the US has been resolved, but that a deal is “not close”.
So here’s what happened, and what this means.
What did the US say about the recent boycott?
“Targets include weapons facilities and Iranian boats attempting to lay mines,” Navy spokesman Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, told Al Jazeera in a statement late Monday.
“US Central Command continues to protect our military while exercising restraint during the ceasefire,” it said, without providing details.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is visiting India, said the targets include boats trying to plant mines and weapons facilities. Washington has criticized Iran’s military for placing mines near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits.
Speaking to reporters on his plane in the western Indian city of Jaipur, Rubio said the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s energy hub under Iran’s blockade, must remain open “one way”.
During the talks, he said that negotiating a deal with Iran “could take several days”, ruling out any hope of an immediate end to the conflict.
In a lengthy speech on Truth Social on Monday, US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran are going “good”, but warned of more threats if they fail. “It will be a Great Deal for all, or no Deal at all”, he wrote.
The escalating tensions come days after Trump said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was “negotiated” with Iran, raising hopes of an imminent deal to end the war that has rocked markets and sent oil prices soaring.
What did Iran say about the attack?
Nothing has happened in Iran so far.
Iranian media reported on Monday that Iran had shot down a “rogue” drone using a new self-defense system, without saying where it came from.
Iranian sources told Al Jazeera that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had targeted the ship at sea before the US attack.
Several IRGC members were killed in the attack, according to sources.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Washington and Tehran had made progress in their talks, but played down hopes of a breakthrough.
“To say that we have reached the end of the main part of the issues being discussed would be correct. However, to say that this means that the agreement is about to be signed is not something that anyone can say,” said the spokesperson of the ministry Baghaei.
Speaking at a press conference in Tehran, he said both sides were not discussing Iran’s nuclear program “right now”, their goal was to end the war.
What is happening on the diplomacy front?
The US and Iran agreed to cease hostilities on April 8, but a lasting peace has not yet been reached, negotiations and efforts to reduce the spread are ongoing.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is on a four-day visit to China, where he and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir held talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.
After weeks of pushing China to take action in persuading Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration said at the meeting that it did not need Beijing’s help.
Earlier on Monday, a high-ranking Iranian delegation arrived in Qatar’s capital, Doha, to discuss roadblocks to a permanent peace deal.
The delegation’s visit, which reportedly includes Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, came as Trump said peace talks were “going well”, though he insisted he would not accept anything less. Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati is also among the delegations visiting Doha.
“It’s going to be great for all or, nothing to do – Back to the Battlegrounds and shooting, but bigger and stronger than before – And nobody wants this!” Trump wrote on Social Truth.
Trump also wanted to tie the peace talks with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan signing the Abraham Accords to establish good relations with Israel.
“It may be possible that one or two have a reason not to do this, and that will be accepted, but the majority must be ready, willing, and able to make this deal with Iran a much longer event than it would otherwise be,” Trump wrote.
Signed in 2020 during Trump’s first term, the Abraham Accords changed relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Arab countries have said they will establish diplomatic relations with Israel after recognizing an independent Palestinian state as part of a so-called two-state solution.
What does this mean for peace talks?
Reports from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said the protests could derail ongoing negotiations to end the war, as Trump is desperate to reach an agreement.
“There have been a number of conflicts like this, especially since the ceasefire started. At the time, Trump said he did not see this as a violation of the ceasefire,” Fisher said.
“There is very little information coming out of the US; we don’t know the scale of the operation,” he said. “It is difficult to say whether this war is unusual.”
