US military says it carried out ‘self-defense’ strikes in Iran, including on missile launch sites

WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out 鈥渟elf-defense鈥� strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump that negotiations were 鈥減roceeding nicely.鈥�

The strikes were done 鈥渢o protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,鈥� but the military was 鈥渦sing restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,鈥� Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesman, said in a statement.

Further details were not immediately available, including more specifics on the threats from Iran and what this means for negotiations. 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 , the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump鈥檚 first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.

The proposal came as the emerging Iran deal 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 鈥渋mmediately鈥� 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 鈥渁fter 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.鈥�

Trump has long 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.

Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan鈥檚 position on Israel remains unchanged despite Trump鈥檚 latest proposal.

The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during negotiations on Saturday. He said he would accept 鈥渙ne or two鈥� 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鈥檚 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.

鈥淭he 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,鈥� he said, pointing to the domestic pressure Trump is facing to strike a favorable deal.

Still, Khan said, 鈥渢he diplomatic track is still working, and I believe Pakistan is very much at the center of it, supported by regional countries.鈥�

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鈥檚 first term, originally between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco, and, more recently, .

They were framed as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving a path toward full ties with Israel.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

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