Fighting while negotiating! On the 25th, the US military carried out a "self-defense strike" in southern Iran.

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The fragility of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement was exposed again on Monday. US forces carried out strikes on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after Trump declared that negotiations between the two parties were progressing smoothly.

According to CCTV News on the 26th, Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for the US Central Command, stated that US forces carried out a self-defense strike in southern Iran on the 25th, "aimed at protecting US troops from threats posed by Iranian forces."

He also stated, "US Central Command continues to defend US troops while exercising restraint during the current ceasefire." Media reports indicate that the targets included two Islamic Revolutionary Guard vessels laying naval mines and a missile launch site near Abbas Port after Iran fired surface-to-air missiles at US military aircraft.

This exchange of fire occurred at a critical juncture in US-Iran negotiations, abruptly heightening doubts about the continuation of the ceasefire agreement. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy shipping lanes. Since the end of February, when the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran, shipping along the strait has been seriously disrupted, global energy prices have soared, and a new round of inflationary pressure has been fueled.

Sequence of Events: Mining, Counterattack, Retaliation

Media citing senior US officials stated the event unfolded as follows: US forces discovered two Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and immediately sank them; Iran then fired surface-to-air missiles at US aircraft; as a result, US forces struck the missile launch site near Abbas Port. Iran's official Fars News Agency reported large explosions at Abbas Port and in the Persian Gulf.

According to Iranian sources, late at night on the 25th Iranian time, explosions were heard in several coastal areas along the Strait of Hormuz including Abbas Port, Sirik, and Jask in southern Iran, after which the situation was "brought under control." Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jen Griffin quoted US sources saying that the current round of strikes is over, is defensive rather than offensive in nature, and is not intended to break the ceasefire.

Negotiations At a Deadlock, Core Discord Around Nuclear Issue and Sanctions

This exchange of fire comes as US-Iran negotiations are facing new resistance.

Media quoting mediators say there are clear differences between the parties on the wording related to Iran’s nuclear program and on sanctions exemptions for Tehran, causing obvious slowdown in negotiations. Previously over the weekend, Trump and other government officials had stated the agreement was nearly reached, but Trump subsequently changed his stance, saying he would not accept an unsuitable agreement just to speed up progress.

Meanwhile, external conditions for the negotiations are becoming more complex. On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social, urging Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries to join the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel, and issued another statement demanding that Iran's enriched uranium be either handed over to the US or destroyed locally.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the same day said he would increase strikes against Hezbollah, while Iran insists that stopping hostile actions against Lebanon's Hezbollah should be listed as a precondition for any peace agreement. A potential US-Iran draft agreement includes provisions to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, but this issue remains one of the major obstacles in negotiations.

Trump Expands Diplomatic Goals, Ceasefire Agreement’s Outlook Uncertain

According to media reports, Trump is attempting to broaden the scope of the current negotiations from a simple ceasefire agreement to a broader Middle East normalization agenda, hoping to package any limited ceasefire and shipping agreements as more substantial regional diplomatic achievements.

Currently, both the US and Iran are under real pressure to reach an agreement—the US wants to end a war with limited domestic support, while Iran urgently needs relief from economic sanctions. But the exchange of fire on Monday suggests that unless differences at the negotiation table are resolved, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz could spiral out of control again at any moment, and uncertainty in global energy markets will persist.

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