US strikes military site in Iran as Trump blasts Tehran’s peace plan as ‘total fabrication’

The US military launched new strikes in Iran overnight, targeting military territory near the Strait of Hormuz where authorities believe it poses a threat to American forces and commercial shipping.

An official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the US military had intercepted and shot down several Iranian drones that posed a similar threat.

“Today, US Central Command forces shot down four Iranian unidirectional attack aircraft that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz,” the official said.

US forces also hit an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch its fifth drone. ‘These actions were measured, purely defensive and aimed at preserving the ceasefire.’

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Thursday that they responded by targeting a US air base in the early morning hours. The IRGC did not say where the base was.

They warned that any repetition of what they called aggression would provoke a ‘more definitive’ response and said responsibility for the consequences rested with the ‘aggressor’.

Kuwait, which hosts a major US base, said it was responding to missile and drone attacks without saying where the attacks came from.

Israel, which is fighting Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, also reported that sirens were sounding regarding enemy aircraft activities in northern Israel.

An official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the US military had intercepted and shot down several Iranian drones that posed a similar threat.

The strikes came amid negotiations to end a three-month war that has killed thousands and sent global energy prices sharply higher since U.S. and Israeli strikes began on Feb. 28.

Trump said on Wednesday that he was not yet happy with Iran’s offer to make a deal after Iranian state television aired details of what he claimed was a draft deal.

The draft memorandum of understanding with Washington includes a commitment to lift the naval blockade of Iran, restore traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and withdraw US forces from the Gulf, Iranian state television said early on Wednesday.

The White House called the report a “complete fabrication.”

Speaking at a cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump added that he was in no rush to reach a deal to end the Middle East war, although he said over the weekend that it was close.

‘Iran is very intentional, they want to make a deal very much. So far they haven’t been able to get there. “We’re not happy about it, but we’ll be happy with it,” Trump said.

“It’s either that or we’ll have to finish the job,” he said, referring to threats by the United States and Israel to resume military operations that they launched on February 28 and paused in April.

Trump added that the Iranians were ‘negotiating over gas.’

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at a press conference at the Pentagon

Donald Trump early Wednesday denied a report in Iranian state media that Iran and Oman would jointly manage shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as part of a peace deal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sitting next to Trump, said there had been “some progress and some interest” in negotiations with Iran.

“We’ll see in the next few hours and days whether progress can be made,” Rubio said.

Trump did not directly respond to Iranian state television’s reporting on the draft agreement and sometimes gave contradictory statements about the progress of the negotiations.

He said that ‘nobody’ including Iran would control the Strait of Hormuz and rejected reports that Iran and the Gulf state of Oman could control a toll system for the waterway.

The president said the waterway will remain open.

Trump emphasized that he is in no rush to reach a deal, even though the Iran war has caused the cost of living to rise for Americans ahead of midterm elections in November.

The Republican has record-low approval ratings with less than six months until the vote that will determine whether his party retains control of Congress.

“They thought they were going to wait for me, you know, we’re going to wait for him, he has midterms,” ​​Trump said, referring to Iran.

US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (left), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd left) and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (right) listen to US President Donald Trump (C) at the cabinet meeting and evaluate options regarding Iran

‘I don’t care about midterms.’

The US last carried out defensive strikes against Iran on Monday; Iran called it a violation of the countries’ fragile ceasefire.

American targets included mine-laying boats and missile launch sites that the US military’s Central Command said posed a threat to US forces.

Trump warned on Wednesday that he might need to ‘finish the job’ and Tehran said its forces were still ‘lying in wait with loaded magazines’.

The mixed signals underlined the fragile state of talks aimed at ending the Middle East war that has rattled global energy markets and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also appeared to caution Oman, a U.S. ally and mediator in the conflict, when asked about a possible short-term arrangement that would allow Iran and Oman to control the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said, “No, the Strait will be open to everyone.” ‘These are international waters and Oman will behave like everyone else, or we will have to blow them up. They understand this, they’ll be fine.’

The White House did not immediately say whether Trump misspoke. Oman played a mediating role in the war and was itself attacked by Tehran.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Thursday that they responded by targeting a US air base in the early morning hours. IRGC did not say where the base was

According to Tasnim news agency, the senior official of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohammed Akbarzade, said that “the possibility of war is low due to the weakness of the enemy”, but warned that if attacked, the army “will lie in wait with loaded magazines”.

Trump, who said he was close to an agreement over the weekend, said he was in no rush at the cabinet meeting.

The Middle East war broke out in late February with the US-Israeli attack on Iran, and oil prices rose rapidly.

Hopes of a deal being reached soon caused benchmark oil contracts to fall more than five percent on Wednesday.

Global stocks were mostly higher, with all three major US indexes posting modest gains and new records as investors ignored conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran.

While investors were supported by the decline in US Treasury bond yields along with the decline in oil prices, another increase in technology stocks also accelerated the rise.

Economists have warned that prolonged outages in Hormuz could keep energy prices high, feed inflation and force central banks to raise interest rates.

A day earlier, Iran accused the United States of violating the ceasefire following the most serious attacks since the ceasefire came into force and warned that it was ready to retaliate.

The US military said it launched “self-defense attacks” on Iranian missile sites and mine-laying boats overnight from Monday to Tuesday.

Tehran’s intelligence ministry accused the United States and Israel of overthrowing the Islamic Republic, dividing Iran, inciting division and sabotage.

Iran and the United States have been exchanging threats for weeks while negotiating through Pakistan’s mediation.

Neither side appears ready to compromise on the main sticking points: Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme.

On Wednesday, the Revolutionary Guard navy said only ships ‘willing to comply with Iranian order’ could pass through Hormuz.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that a deal was possible but that Hormuz would reopen one way or another.

Iranian authorities also partially restored access to the global internet on Tuesday after a three-month shutdown.