WASHINGTON (TNND) — The U.S. military on Monday said it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines.
That’s despite an agreed ceasefire and tentative peace deal negotiations with Iran.
U.S. Central Command said the strikes were done “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces” but that it was “using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”
Earlier on Monday, President Donald 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 the president’s first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.
Trump said in a social media post that negotiations are “proceeding nicely” but tied any eventual agreement to expanded participation in the 2020 accords.
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, alongside Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020.
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, but the kingdom has maintained that any normalization deal requires first establishing a clear path for Palestinian statehood. That’s also key for Pakistan, which is among the countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
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Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan’s position on Israel remains unchanged despite Trump’s latest proposal.
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