The Pentagon said U.S. Central Command forces carried out what it called “defensive” strikes on Wednesday after detecting Iran preparing to launch a fifth drone from a ground control station in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. U.S. forces destroyed the station, the officials said, and had earlier intercepted four one-way attack drones that posed a threat in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operations publicly.
The actions came a day after U.S. forces struck missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran on Monday, a salvo Iran denounced as a sign of bad faith. The Pentagon said the United States acted with restraint given the weekslong ceasefire. Wednesday’s strikes are likely to further complicate already fragile talks, according to officials.
Trump, addressing his Cabinet, acknowledged that work remains but expressed confidence that negotiators would reach a settlement. “They want very much to make a deal,” Trump said. “So far, they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be — either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.” He dismissed the notion that the upcoming midterm elections would pressure his timeline, saying, “I don’t care about the midterms.”
The PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, stood at 3.5% in April, according to vintage data available on Wednesday, adding to the economic anxiety that has darkened the mood of the American electorate and underscored the political stakes of ending the costly conflict.
Under the framework taking shape, Tehran would agree to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium — a key Trump demand — in exchange for sanctions relief, according to two regional officials and one senior Trump administration official familiar with the talks. One regional official with direct knowledge of the negotiations said the mechanics of the handover would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period, with some uranium likely diluted and the rest transferred to a third country. Trump said he would not be comfortable with either Russia or China taking possession of the material.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that Iran possesses 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, a short technical step from the 90% threshold considered weapons grade. Iran has not publicly committed to relinquishing its stockpile.
Several Republican allies of the president have expressed unease. Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ted Cruz of Texas have said publicly that the terms emerging from the talks too closely resemble the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran brokered by Democratic President Barack Obama, which Trump withdrew from in his first term.
A separate friction point is whether the ceasefire will extend to Israel’s operations against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that any agreement with the United States must cover Lebanon as well. The emerging memorandum of understanding calls for a ceasefire between the U.S. and its allies against Iran and its proxies, the officials said, while preserving Israel’s right to self-defense against imminent threats.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that the military is deepening its operation in Lebanon. Israeli forces clashed with Hezbollah along a strategic river in southern Lebanon overnight as troops pushed northward. Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces and now a senior fellow at the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Israel expects Iran would use sanctions relief to rebuild military capacity and resupply proxy groups. “We’re not done fighting, because the Iranian regime isn’t done,” Conricus said.
Trump on Wednesday also renewed his demand that several additional countries — including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan — join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements with Israel from his first term. Barbara Leaf, a retired U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and a senior State Department official during the Biden administration, said Gulf officials who were on a recent call with Trump told her his pitch was met by “stunned silence.” A person familiar with the call disputed that characterization and said some regional allies responded positively; that person also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Leaf said Middle Eastern allies recognize Iran will likely use sanctions relief to bolster its military, but they remain supportive of Trump’s efforts to end the conflict. “They see no other way out,” Leaf said, “and they see no other way out because of many of these early mistakes that the president and the administration made in conducting the war.”