US military says it carried out 'self-defense' strikes in Iran,
including on missile launch sites
[May 26, 2026]
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN, LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MUNIR AHMED
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out
“self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch
sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on
social media that negotiations with Tehran were “proceeding nicely.”
The strikes were done “to protect our troops from threats posed by
Iranian forces,” but the military was “using restraint during the
ongoing ceasefire,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for the U.S.
military's Central Command, said in a statement.
Further details were not immediately available, including more specifics
on the threats from Iran and what this means for negotiations. There was
no official response from Iran, which had sent its parliament speaker
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf to Qatar for negotiations over the possible deal
with the U.S.
Qatar, which faced intense attacks from Iran during the war, holds
billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.
In Iran, the news website Tabnak, believed to be close to former
Revolutionary Guard chief Mohsen Rezaei, identified four dead Guard
troops it said had been killed in American strikes on boats. Iranian
state television separately reported blasts around Bandar Abbas, a city
on the Strait of Hormuz home to a military port and a dual-use airport.
The strikes were the latest attacks to shake the weekslong ceasefire in
the war. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all crude oil
and natural gas traded once passed, remains effectively in Iran's
chokehold, disrupting global energy markets.
Trump brings up recognition of Israel
Earlier, Trump said any agreement to end the Iran war should include a
requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and
Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements from
Trump’s first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.
The proposal came as the emerging Iran deal faced criticism from fellow
Republicans who favor a harder line on Iran, and it could add new
diplomatic complications to the negotiations.
Trump pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should
“immediately” sign on. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the
first countries to join in 2020, diplomatically recognizing Israel.
He wrote that “after all the work done by the United States to try and
pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all
of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham
Accords.”
Trump has long hoped Saudi Arabia would join. Saudi Arabia in particular
has for decades called on Israel to return to its 1967 borders and allow
the formation of a Palestinian nation with east Jerusalem as its
capital. Israel’s conduct in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip
also has alienated Gulf Arab states and the wider Muslim world as well.
[to top of second column]
|
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the
journalists before boarding his plane at Indira Gandhi International
Airport in New Delhi, India, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia
Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Pakistan remains key mediator
Recognition of a Palestinian state also remains key for Pakistan,
which is among the countries that do not have diplomatic relations
with Israel.
Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan’s position
on Israel remains unchanged despite Trump’s latest proposal.
The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with
leaders during negotiations on Saturday. He said he would accept
“one or two” countries declining to sign, but said most should be
willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have
long-standing peace treaties. Turkey first recognized Israel in
1949.
Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, said
it remains to be seen how workable the proposal might be for the
countries on Trump's list.
“The invocation of the Abraham Accords at this stage gives an
altogether new dimension to the diplomatic and mediatory processes
because this issue was not on the agenda,” he said, pointing to the
domestic pressure Trump is facing to strike a favorable deal.
Still, Khan said, “the diplomatic track is still working, and I
believe Pakistan is very much at the center of it, supported by
regional countries.”
It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be
completed. Trump suggested even Iran could eventually sign on to the
accords, if an agreement is reached.
The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security
agreements created with U.S. influence during Trump’s first term,
which also saw Sudan, Morocco, and, more recently, Kazakhstan, join.
___
Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
