War Glance
U.S. Central Command (Centcom) on Monday said U.S. forces fired “defensive strikes” in southern Iran amid discussions to bring the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Tehran to an end.
These strikes were intended “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces” — specifically boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Centcom spokesperson, told The Hill.
“U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” Hawkins said.
Earlier Monday, Reuters reported explosions in southern Iran in Bandar Abbas city and around coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. and Iran have held a ceasefire since April 7. The stalemate has seen few small attacks since last month, though none have violated the ceasefire’s terms.
Iran has destroyed $1bn worth of MQ-9 Reaper Drones, or roughly 20 percent of the US’s pre-war inventory of the sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a report by Bloomberg on Friday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Wednesday said his country has not decided whether to join another round of negotiations with the U.S., after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire between the two countries indefinitely.
In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced the "delusion of omnipotence" that is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace.
US vice-president JD Vance left Islamabad on Sunday after failing to reach a deal with Iran after a marathon 21 hours of negotiations.
President Donald Trump took to social media on Easter Sunday to applaud the U.S. military's rescue of the second airman whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran — and to issue an expletive-laden threat against the Middle Eastern nation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The number of American service members wounded in the Iran war has grown beyond 300, with more than two dozen troops injured this week from attacks on a Saudi air base.
