While ensuring “to show restraint during the current ceasefire”, the American army announced on the night of Monday May 25 to Tuesday May 26 that it had carried out defensive strikes in the south of Iran, saying it had targeted missile launch sites and Iranian ships which were trying to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
These strikes come after Tehran reported earlier on Monday progress in discussions aimed at ending the conflict, with a spokesperson indicating that the discussions had concluded on many points of a possible memorandum of understanding. Donald Trump, for his part, declared on Sunday that there was no emergency, after having assured the day before that a memorandum of understanding with Iran was almost entirely negotiated. “The deal will either be excellent and meaningful, or there will be no deal,” the US president said on Monday. The issue of Iran’s nuclear program is among the main sticking points between the two camps, as is Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon and Iranian demands for the unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets.
Infos à retain
⇒ US military says it carried out ‘self-defense’ strikes in Iran
⇒ Negotiations with Iran could take ‘a few days,’ says Marco Rubio
⇒ Benyamin Netanyahu says Israel will “intensify” its offensive in Lebanon
US military says it carried out ‘self-defense’ strikes in Iran
The US military’s Central Command said overnight that the US military had carried out “self-defense strikes” in southern Iran, targeting missile launch sites and Iranian ships attempting to lay mines. These measures were taken to “protect our soldiers from threats posed by the Iranian army”, wrote the central command. He specifies that he “continues to defend our troops while showing restraint during the current ceasefire”.
Monday evening, the official Iranian press reported that explosions had been heard in Iran in coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz, without being able to specify their origin, the Mehr press agency however declaring that the situation was under control and without cause for concern.
Earlier this month, similar skirmishes occurred between the two camps near the Strait of Hormuz, de facto blocked by Tehran and to which Washington responded with its own maritime blockade on the sidelines of the temporary ceasefire, without provoking a resumption of large-scale hostilities. scale.
Iran shoots down American drone
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they reserved the “legitimate and absolute” right to retaliate against any violation of a ceasefire by the United States, state media reported. They add that air defense units shot down an American MQ-9 drone and fired on a fighter jet that entered Iranian airspace.
Negotiations with Iran could take “a few days”, says Marco Rubio
The Strait of Hormuz must be unblocked “one way or another”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday about the strikes carried out earlier by the US army in southern Iran, near the strait.
Speaking to journalists accompanying him on board his plane during a visit to India, the head of American diplomacy also indicated that there was “a lot of back and forth” about the rhetoric used in the draft agreement between Washington and Tehran. Negotiations could “take a few days”, he added.
Lebanon: Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will “intensify” its offensive
Despite the truce announced last month by Donald Trump and then extended within the framework of Israeli-Lebanese discussions in Washington earlier this month, Benjamin Netanyahu declared Monday evening that Israel would step up its attacks in Lebanon. The IDF is not going to “take its foot off the gas,” the Israeli Prime Minister said in a video. “On the contrary, I asked to press the accelerator even more,” he also declared, promising to “crush” Hezbollah.
The Israeli army has occupied southern Lebanon since the beginning of March, saying it wants to neutralize Hezbollah aligned with Iran. More than 3,100 people, including many children, rescue workers and journalists, have been killed by the Israeli army since March 2, while around 1.5 million people have been displaced. Two Israeli civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks since then. During the night, warning sirens sounded in an area located in northern Israel due to the intrusion of a presumed “hostile device”, said the Israeli army, which later spoke of a false alarm.
