The United States and Iran exchanged military strikes over the weekend, deepening fears that a fragile ceasefire may be unravelling as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz have hit a wall.
The US military said it carried out “self-defence strikes” on Iranian radar and drone control sites in southern Iran — its third such wave in just over a week — citing the downing of an American MQ-1 drone.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responded by targeting an air base it said was used to launch the attack, while Kuwait reported intercepting hostile missiles and drones in its airspace.
The exchange came as weeks of difficult negotiations have failed to bridge wide gaps between Washington and Tehran on core issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme and the ongoing war in Lebanon.
President Trump, who has identified halting Iran’s nuclear ambitions and reopening the Hormuz shipping lane as his key priorities, said in a Fox News interview that Iran had agreed there would be “no nuclear weapons.” But Tehran has pushed back on his characterisation of the talks, with top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf saying no agreement would be endorsed until “the rights of the Iranian people have been upheld.”
Iran is also demanding the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before entering substantive nuclear discussions and has signalled it may seek to impose “administrative fees” on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz — a direct contradiction of Trump’s claim that Iran had agreed to charge “no tolls.”
The New York Times and Axios reported that Trump sent a tougher new framework to Tehran over the weekend, though details remain undisclosed. Iran’s foreign minister said any commentary on the talks remained “speculation” until a clear outcome was reached.
On the Lebanon front, Iran has insisted that any comprehensive peace deal must include a halt to Israeli operations in the country. A truce formally agreed on April 17 has never held, and Israel has since expanded its offensive, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to push further into Lebanese territory.
An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Sunday killed eight people. The UN Security Council was set to convene an emergency meeting Monday following Israel’s capture of the historic Beaufort Castle, which Netanyahu described as “a dramatic shift.”
