US military launches new strikes against targets inside Iran

US conducts its second ‘defensive’ strikes this week amid fragile peace negotiations

The US military carried out new strikes overnight in Iran targeting a military site and shooting down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed ‌a threat around the Strait of Hormuz, a US official said on Wednesday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military site that was struck was an Iranian ground control station in Iran’s Bandar Abbas that ⁠was about to launch a fifth drone.

The US military strikes came during negotiations to end a three-month-old war that has killed thousands ‌and sent global energy prices sharply higher since it began ⁠on February ⁠28 with US and Israeli attacks.

An Iranian media report said there were three explosions in the area at around 1.30am local time on Thursday. A ceasefire between the US and Iran took effect in early April.

“These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to ‌maintain the ceasefire,” the official said.

US President Donald Trump earlier on Wednesday dismissed ‌a Iranian ‌state media report that Iran and Oman would jointly manage ‌shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a ⁠peace deal. Trump said the waterway would remain open.