US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats that tried to lay mines on Monday, the US Central Command said, as a senior Iranian delegation arrived in Doha for talks to end the war.
“US forces conducted a defensive strike in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement.
It did not give details of the attacks and said only that the targets included missile launch sites and boats trying to “lay mines”.
The attack between the US and Israel took place south of Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, with several Iranian soldiers killed, Iran’s Nour News agency reported, without giving further details.
The attacks threatened an already fragile ceasefire that began on April 8 as the United States and Iran struggled to reach an agreement to end a war that has crippled the world economy and severely disrupted energy flows.
Hopes for a deal in recent days suffered another blow when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has demanded that any peace agreement be used for fighting in Lebanon as well.
