US reportedly observed series of Iranian threats before latest strikes

The U.S. military strikes against targets in southern Iran came Monday after intelligence analysts detected a series of potentially threatening Iranian military actions in the 24 hours before the strikes, two U.S. officials said Tuesday.

U.S. military aircraft sank two speedboats from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that were attempting to place mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that Iran effectively blocked and which carried about a fifth of the world’s daily oil and gas supplies before the war.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters, also said Iran had launched one-way attack drones near some of the nearly two dozen U.S. Navy warships in or around the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. The ships impose a blockade on ships attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports.

US military analysts also detected activity at some Iranian surface-to-air missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz, which threatened land-based and carrier-based attack aircraft operating in the region as part of the naval blockade.

In response, the United States conducted “self-defense strikes” against targets in southern Iran “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement Monday.

On Tuesday, Captain Hawkins declined to comment further on the strikes, emphasizing his Monday statement that “US Central Command continues to defend our forces while exercising restraint.”

Other Pentagon officials on Tuesday denied Iranian media reports that Iran had shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone.

U.S. officials and independent analysts also said Tuesday that the Revolutionary Guard may have conducted tests to determine whether its forces have a new additional operating room, as the two sides try to shore up the potential deal that President Trump says could end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“Yesterday’s exchange underscored how Tehran’s strategy has not changed despite the new faces of the regime and a devastating war,” said Dana Stroul, research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East.

“The regime always tries to present itself as a good-faith negotiator, but the IRGC navy was caught exploiting the strait at the same time Tehran was apparently negotiating to clear it,” Stroul said.

Iran used small boats to exploit the strait shortly after the United States and Israel began their war against the country on February 28. The mines, along with the threat of Iranian drone and missile attacks, have slowed the number of tankers and other ships passing through the strait, driving up energy prices and providing Iran with its best leverage in the war.

U.S. and Iranian forces have had other skirmishes since the ceasefire took effect about six weeks ago. But Monday’s strikes could complicate already fragile negotiations between the United States and Iran.

As the ceasefire continues, U.S. commanders say they are closely monitoring Iran’s efforts to rebuild its military, which President Trump and top U.S. aides insist the 38-day U.S.-Israeli campaign has been severely degraded or destroyed.

U.S. intelligence agencies told policymakers in confidential assessments earlier this month that Iran had regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities. While the United States has sunk most of Iran’s conventional navy, the Revolutionary Guard still retains hundreds of small speedboats that can be used to lay mines.

Most alarming to some senior officials is evidence that Iran has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites it maintains along the Strait of Hormuz, which could threaten U.S. warships and oil tankers transiting the narrow waterway.

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