US strikes Iran targets for second time in three days

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. US strikes Iran targets for second time in three daysJust now Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleSarah Smith ,North America editor, Washington DCandNardine SaadUS Navy via Getty ImagesThe strikes come amid a fragile ceasefire and protracted negotiations to end the war, which began with the US and Israel striking Iran on 28 FebThe US military has carried out new strikes on Iran, targeting a military site in Bandar Abbas, a strategic port city. US Central Command (Centcom) said its forces also shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones "that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz". The site in Bandar Abbas was struck as it was about to launch a fifth drone, Centcom said.

Iranian media reported that explosions were heard to the east of the city. The strikes come amid a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran, and protracted negotiations to end the three-month war that has choked traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and shot up global energy prices. It is the second time in three days that the US has attacked targets in Iran - saying that the strikes were conducted in self defence.

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The renewed hostilities threaten the ceasefire. Centcom described its actions as "measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire". Earlier this week, it confirmed a previous round of "self-defence" strikes on southern Iran on Monday in which they targeted Iranian missile sites and boats attempting to lay mines in the Strait, where thousands of commercial tanker ships are stranded as a result of the conflict.

Centcom said those strikes were designed "to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces". Iran condemned the strikes as "a grave violation of the ceasefire" and vowed that the Iranian government "will not leave any act of hostility unanswered. "Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also said on Tuesday that it had downed a US drone and fired at a fighter jet and another drone that entered Iranian airspace, but did not specify when.

During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said that Iran is "negotiating on fumes", insisting that his war strategy will not be impacted by November's US midterm elections. "Maybe we have to go back and finish it, maybe we don't," he said. During that meeting, the president also urged Gulf nations to sign on to the Abraham Accords to normalise relations with Israel.

Israel launched the war against Iran alongside the US on 28 February and is also embroiled in a war with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. President Trump has threatened to resume a large-scale bombing campaign if Iran does not agree to his terms. Trump says US 'not satisfied' with Iran deal yetIran condemns US strikes as 'gross violation' of ceasefireWhile Trump struck an optimistic note over the weekend, saying that a peace deal with Iran had been "largely negotiated", by Wednesday's cabinet meeting, he said that the US is "not satisfied".

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.