US says it carried out ‘self-defense’ strikes in Iran, including on missile sites and mine-laying boats

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Monday it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including against missile launch sites and mine-laying boats, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations were “going well.”

The strikes were carried out “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” but the military “has exercised restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement.

Further details were not immediately available, including on the Iranian threats and what that means for the negotiations. Earlier, Trump said any deal to end the war in Iran would have to include requiring several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, to rejoin the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered deals since Trump’s first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.

The proposal comes as the nascent Iran deal faces criticism from fellow Republicans who favor a tougher line on Iran, and it could add new diplomatic complications to the negotiations.

Trump named Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should join “immediately,” alongside Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020.

WATCH: US, Iran suggest progress in peace talks, but deal ‘not imminent’

He wrote that “after all the work the United States has done in trying to put this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these countries, at a minimum and simultaneously, sign the Abraham Accords.”

Trump had long hoped that Saudi Arabia would join, but the kingdom has maintained that any normalization deal would first require establishing a clear path to a Palestinian state. It is also essential for Pakistan, which is one of the countries that does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan’s position on Israel remained unchanged despite Trump’s latest proposal.

The president said he raised the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during Saturday’s negotiations. He said he would accept one or two countries refusing to sign, but most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties. Turkey first recognized Israel in 1949.

Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, said it remains to be seen how feasible the proposal might be for countries on Trump’s list.

“Invoking the Abraham Accords at this point gives a whole new dimension to the diplomatic and mediation processes because this issue was not on the agenda,” he said, highlighting the domestic pressure Trump faces to reach a favorable deal.

Nevertheless, Khan said, “the diplomatic channel still works, and I think Pakistan is at the center of it, supported by regional countries.”

It remains unclear when or how a deal with Iran could be reached. Trump suggested that even Iran could eventually sign the accords, if a deal was reached.

The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security arrangements created under US influence during Trump’s first term, initially between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco and, more recently, Kazakhstan.

They were intended as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving the way for full ties with Israel.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

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