The US military launched “self-defense strikes” against Iranian boats that were reportedly laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz Monday, according to Central Command.
CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said US military “eliminated” two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats that were seen setting mines in the strait, and also took out a surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas, according to Fox News.
The missile site based at Iran’s primary naval station was reportedly targeting US warplanes, Hawkins said. He insisted that the “self-defense strikes” were conducted “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”
“U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” Hawkins said in a statement obtained by the outlet.
The US strikes — and mine-laying efforts by the IRGC — are both violations of a tenuous cease-fire that appears on the cusp of being extended after a framework to end the Iran war surfaced following whirlwind negotiations over the weekend.
The tentative deal between Washington and Tehran, which was brokered by Pakistan, would reopen the strait without tolls, end the fighting for 60 days and begin a short window to negotiate an end to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Tehran would also clear the mines it had deployed at the strait’s checkpoint and allow ships to pass freely, according to parameters of the agreement, according to Axios.
In return, the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports and waive some sanctions against the Iranian regime – allowing Tehran to sell oil again.
President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio separately warned that the deal wasn’t finalized though.
A senior Trump administration official previously told The Post that the president may opt out if Tehran doesn’t commit to his terms, including a hardline on the nuclear program.
Even so, two sources told Fox News that the “defensive strikes” are “over for now” and do not indicate an end to the fraigle cease-fire.
Several other explosions were reported close to Sirik and Jask, two coastal cities along the strait and Gulf of Oman, respectively, earlier Monday.
