Rubio says Iran deal could take days after US forces launch new attacks

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said a potential deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran could “take a few days” as a series of attacks threatened an already-fragile ceasefire.

“There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress. I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it’ll take a few days,” Rubio told reporters on Tuesday in Jaipur during a visit to India.

“The president’s expressed his desire to make it. He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal,” he said. Rubio told reporters that “the straits have to be open”.

“They’re going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open. What’s happening there is unlawful, it’s illegal, it’s unsustainable for the world, it’s unacceptable.”

Earlier, the Central Command (CENTCOM) said US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines on Monday, putting further strain on an already fragile ceasefire that has been in place since April 8.

“US forces conducted self-defence strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said in a statement.

It gave no details of the attacks and only said the targets included missile launch sites and boats trying to “emplace mines”.

Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported several loud explosions were heard in the vicinity of Bandar Abbas at around midnight local time (20:30 GMT on Monday).

IRGC says US drone shot down

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said there was no immediate official reaction from Iran to the US claims.

“Iranian officials have not denied the US reports that Iranian missile launchers and boats were attacked,” he reported. “However, they have neither confirmed the reports nor given details of the incident.”

Iran’s Fars news agency said the US military attacked sites in southern Iran near the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas on Monday.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday that it shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone after identifying “hostile aircraft” entering Iranian airspace.

IRGC forces “also fired upon an RQ-4 drone and an intruding F-35″ jet, an IRGC statement said, without specifying the time of the incidents.

Adam Clements, a former diplomat and Pentagon official, said he was not “necessarily surprised” by the US acknowledging that its military had struck targets in southern Iran.

“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,” he told Al Jazeera.

Overall, Clements said, formal diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iran are still progressing, and the strikes will not derail the process.

Talks in Qatar

The strikes came after top Iranian negotiators gathered in Qatar’s capital for the latest round of talks to end the nearly three-month-long conflict, which has sent global energy prices spiralling after Iran effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for oil and gas.

An official briefed on the Iranians’ Doha visit told the Reuters news agency the discussions focused on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Iran’s central bank governor attended to discuss the potential release of frozen Iranian funds as part of a final deal.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said earlier that nuclear issues would only be negotiated after a framework accord had been agreed upon.

Trump has said his key aim in the war is to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons with its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has consistently denied it has plans to develop nuclear weapons.

Supreme leader warns US

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a written statement carried by state television on Tuesday, said regional countries would no longer be shields for US bases.

“What is certain in this regard is that the hands of time will not turn backwards, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases,” said Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since taking office in March, in a message marking the Eid al-Adha holiday.

He said the US “in addition to no longer having any safe haven in the region for aggression and the establishment of military bases, is moving further and further away from its former position with each passing day”.

President Masoud Pezeshkian echoed Khamenei’s comments during a meeting with top officials from Iran’s Ministry of Defence.

“Regional countries have now concluded that the military presence of the US has not only failed to ensure their lasting security, but relying on America for security has been an unrealistic and ineffective notion,” he said, according to state media reports.