The U.S. military on Monday conducted “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, U.S. Central Command said, to prevent Iranian hostilities toward U.S. troops.
The strikes targeted missile launch sites and Iranian boats that were in the process of laying mines, according to Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson.
“U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” Hawkins said.
The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran began on April 12, though it has been tested it several times in recent weeks as the U.S. has fired on Iranian-flagged oil tankers and launched retaliatory military strikes against Iran.
U.S. forces destroyed six Iranian small boats on May 4 after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dispatched them toward Navy vessels escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
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On May 7, the U.S. fired at Iranian missile and drone launch sites, command-and-control locations, and intelligence and surveillance hubs after “unprovoked” Iranian attacks on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta and USS Mason.
A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS George H.W. Bush launched “precision munitions” at the smokestacks of two Iranian-flagged unladen oil tankers on May 8 as they transited toward an Iranian port in violation of the U.S. Navy blockade.
Iran reportedly accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire after the Monday self-defense strikes.
The Trump administration is currently working to engineer a peace deal that would include a 60-day ceasefire extension, a stop to military activity and a commitment from Iran to end its nuclear program.
President Trump announced on Truth Social on Monday his preferred process for the destruction of Iran’s nuclear materials.
“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” Trump said.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.