US Central Command struck missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to lay mines in southern Iran on May 26, describing the operation as "self-defence strikes" conducted "while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire," according to CENTCOM spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins [2][3]. The strikes hit targets near Bandar Abbas and the Strait of Hormuz as an Iranian delegation — including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati — was in Doha for peace talks [26][30]. Iranian media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas and areas near Sirik and Jask, and The Guardian cited Iranian sources saying four Revolutionary Guard troops were killed on Larak Island [10][3].
The Pentagon and senior Trump administration officials framed the strikes as a narrow defensive response rather than a broader offensive. A senior Trump administration official confirmed the attacks were "defensive" and had concluded "for the moment," adding that the ceasefire was not in jeopardy [8]. Former US diplomat and Pentagon official Adam Clements said the tactical strikes should be separated from the strategic diplomatic track: "I don't think that what's happened in the Strait of Hormuz at Bandar Abbas is inconsequential — certainly something to watch if this leads to other strikes — but I think here's where we need to separate operational tactical matters from the strategic" [26]. A Brussels-based researcher, Sébastien Boussois, described the approach as "strike and talk" — « Donald Trump est dans ce qu'on appelle traditionnellement le strike and talk » (Donald Trump is engaged in what is traditionally called strike and talk) — arguing the bombardments did not signal a full resumption of hostilities [15].
Iran's response combined diplomatic restraint with military warnings. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said consensus had been reached on many issues but rejected claims of an imminent deal: "To say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion would be correct. However, to say that this means an agreement is on the verge of being signed is not something anyone can claim" [2][22]. He accused the US of inconsistency and constantly shifting positions [17]. On the military side, Iranian Armed Forces spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi warned that any further aggression would be met with a response "beyond the region" and that a target had already been identified [1]. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared that Gulf states would "no longer be a shield for US bases" [9][11].
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking from India, said a deal was still within reach but would take "a few days" to finalize. "There is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter," he told reporters [5]. He insisted the Strait of Hormuz would reopen "one way or the other," calling Iran's blockade "unlawful, illegal, unsustainable, and unacceptable" [9][12]. Iran reframed the dispute, with Baghaei clarifying that proposed charges were for "navigational services and environmental protection" rather than tolls, under a protocol with Oman [22][23].
President Donald Trump set out two conditions that dominate the negotiating gap. First, he demanded that Iran's highly enriched uranium — which a confidential IAEA report said had reached roughly 409 kilograms at 60 percent purity, more than 45 times the 2015 deal's limit [41] — be either surrendered to the US or destroyed inside Iran under international supervision [10][6]. Second, he called on Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, and other Muslim-majority states to join the Abraham Accords as part of any settlement [22]. Former US assistant secretary Barbara Leaf said the proposal was met with "stunned silence" by regional leaders: "You are not going to get Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to do that. Absolutely not" [22]. Pakistan's defence minister explicitly rejected joining the accords [24], and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid described the emerging deal as "disturbing and bad for the region" [22].
Israel moved to preserve its freedom of action regardless of the diplomatic outcome. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to escalate strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, stating "We're not going to slow down" [5][10]. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Israel would "insist that Israel's freedom of action on all fronts be preserved" — "Insistiremos en que se preserve la libertad de acción de Israel en todos los frentes" [21]. Iran, for its part, demanded that a Lebanon ceasefire be included in any memorandum of understanding [10][22].
Third-party mediators sought to keep the process alive. China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning urged all parties to "respect their ceasefire commitments" and "resolve differences through peaceful means" — « régler leurs différends par des moyens pacifiques » [15]. Qatar denied reports it had offered $12 billion to Iran to secure a deal, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al Ansari calling such claims an attempt to "sabotage the agreement" [30]. Qatari Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi said Qatar had achieved "small successes" in its mediation [38].
Global markets reflected the tension between diplomatic hope and military reality. Brent crude had fallen nearly 6 percent to around $97 per barrel on weekend reports of a preliminary agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz [14], but the Monday strikes pushed prices back up 1.9 percent to $98 [32]. The Mexican peso gained 0.22 percent on deal optimism, and FxPro chief analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said reopening the strait would "radically change the foreign exchange market situation" [28]. Saxo chief investment strategist Charu Chanana noted that "even a path toward reopening Hormuz lowers the extreme tail risk around oil, inflation and global growth" [9]. Daiwa Securities strategist Daisuke Hashizume cautioned that peace optimism was "already priced in" and rising oil prices were weighing on sentiment [32].
Iran's foreign ministry also raised the issue of civilian casualties from earlier in the conflict, with Baghaei accusing the US of a February 28 missile strike on a sports hall in Lamerd that killed 24 people, "including a 2-year-old girl, several teenage volleyball players, and other women and men," and demanding accountability before a competent court [13]. No independent verification of the incident appeared in the dossier, and no humanitarian organizations were quoted on civilian harm.
Negotiators remain in Doha, with Rubio indicating that finalizing the text of an initial agreement could take several more days [27]. The ceasefire, originally brokered through Pakistani mediation on April 8 and later extended indefinitely by Trump, remains nominally in effect [27][10].