The United States launched new military strikes against targets in southern Iran on Monday, hitting Iranian missile sites and boats that U.S. forces said were attempting to lay mines. U.S. Central Command described the action as self-defense, with spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins stating the strikes were conducted "to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces" while maintaining what he called restraint under an ongoing ceasefire.

The strikes targeted an area near Bandar Abbas, a strategic southern port city that houses an Iranian naval base on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded Tuesday by claiming it had shot down a U.S. drone and fired on a fighter jet and a second drone that it said entered Iranian airspace, though it did not specify the timing of those incidents. The IRGC also asserted that Iran held the "legitimate and definite" right to retaliate against what it characterized as ceasefire violations by the United States.

Despite the exchange of fire, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters during an official visit to India, said a diplomatic agreement between Washington and Tehran remained possible. He pointed to ongoing talks Tuesday between Iran's foreign minister and Qatar's prime minister, describing the negotiations as focused on specific language in an initial framework document. Rubio stressed that keeping the Strait of Hormuz open was non-negotiable, calling Iranian mining activity "unlawful, illegal, and unsustainable for the world."

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since succeeding his late father earlier this year, issued a statement Tuesday during the annual Hajj pilgrimage declaring that the Middle East "will no longer serve as shields for U.S. bases." His remarks signaled continued defiance from Tehran's leadership even as diplomatic channels remain open. Earlier in May, a separate naval clash between U.S. destroyers and Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz had prompted President Trump to insist a ceasefire remained in effect.

The latest strikes add new uncertainty to fragile negotiations over Iran's nuclear program and regional military posture. Trump said over the weekend that a deal appeared close, but subsequently instructed negotiators not to rush. The repeated military incidents in and around the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil supplies — underscore the high stakes should diplomacy fail to produce an agreement in the coming days.