An F\/A-18E Super Hornet on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) as part of \u201cOperation Epic Fury,\u201d April 16, 2026. (Credit: U.S. Navy)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cU.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,\u201d CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told Fox News<\/i>, adding that the military \u201ccontinues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n
A senior U.S. official said the attacks \u201celiminated\u201d two IRGC mine-laying vessels and a surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas that had been used to target American fighter jets.<\/p>\n
Two \u201cwell-placed sources\u201d cited by Fox News<\/i> emphasized that the strikes do not indicate that the temporary ceasefire with Tehran was no longer in force.<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that the negotiations with Iran could still \u201ctake a few days,\u201d stressing that Washington would give diplomacy every chance to succeed before considering taking action against the regime in \u201canother way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe straits have to be open, they\u2019re going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open,\u201d Rubio said, speaking on his plane during an official visit to India.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s happening there is unlawful; it\u2019s illegal; it\u2019s unsustainable for the world; it\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d he stated. \u201cThere were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we\u2019ll see if we can make progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it\u2019ll take a few days,\u201d added Rubio. \u201cThe president\u2019s expressed his desire to make it. He\u2019s either going to make a good deal or no deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post on Monday reiterated that, as part of the agreement with Tehran, the Islamic Republic should hand over its enriched uranium.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d the president wrote.<\/p>\n
Trump earlier on Monday pushed back against critics of the potential deal being negotiated with Iran, writing on his Truth Social account that any such accord \u201cwill either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposed terms reportedly include reopening the Strait of Hormuz and easing sanctions to allow Tehran to resume oil exports. In return, Iran reportedly committed not to advance its nuclear program.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a><\/span> on Tuesday threatened the U.S. and Israel, calling on Muslims worldwide to chant for the destruction of the two nations during the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage.<\/p>\n\u201cIn various parts of Iran and the world, and continuing well beyond these blessed days, \u2018Death to America\u201d and \u2018Death to Israel\u2019 shall become the common chants of the Islamic ummah<\/i> [nation],\u201d Khamenei said in a written statement issued on the occasion of the Hajj and published in English by the semi-official ISNA<\/i> news agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hands of time will not turn back, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for U.S. bases,\u201d he vowed. \u201cThe United States not only will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases in the region but day by day, it is growing more distant from its former status.\u201d<\/p>\n
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