The US military conducted several so-called ‘self-defence’ raids in southern Iran against Iranian missile launch sites and boats that were – according to the Americans – trying to lay mines. This was reported by the US Central Command, explaining that the operations were carried out ‘to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces’.
The attacks occurred while Iranian negotiators were in Qatar for talks on ending the war and threaten to complicate a possible agreement that US President Donald Trump has outlined as the way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and mitigate the most serious energy disruption in decades.
“The US Central Command continues to defend our forces using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” said Captain Tim Hawkins, Centcom spokesman. Hawkins did not specify which ships were threatened, where they were located or the exact location of the other US raids.
A senior US military official reported that Iranian surface-to-air missiles threatened some of the nearly two dozen US Navy warships, including two aircraft carriers and their escorts, deployed in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea to enforce the blockade against vessels bound for or leaving Iranian ports.
According to the official, the US raids struck near Bandar Abbas, an important port and base of the Iranian Navy.
The latest actions come at a delicate diplomatic stage, as Washington and Tehran seek a possible understanding on the conflict and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The threat posed by Iran’s missile batteries was not considered unexpected by US officials, despite repeated statements by Trump, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and top military brass that the 38-day US-Israeli military campaign would severely weaken or destroy much of Iran’s combat capability.
Confidential US intelligence assessments indicated earlier this month that Iran had regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers, and underground facilities. While the US has reportedly sunk most of Iran’s conventional navy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps still retains hundreds of small fast boats that can be used to lay mines in the Strait.
A major concern is that Tehran has reportedly restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, potentially threatening US warships and transiting oil tankers.
According to assessments, Iran retains about 70 per cent of its mobile launchers and about 70 per cent of its pre-war missile stockpile, including ballistic missiles and a smaller amount of cruise missiles.
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