Sawt Falasteen - US hits Iran with new strikes, despite talks to end war

The strikes came as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for the latest round of talks to end the months-long conflict, and as the Israeli military stepped up hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Oil prices fluctuated in the wake of the US strikes, which may threaten any agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where an Iranian blockade has throttled global fuel supplies.

"US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces," Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesman, said in a statement.

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

Despite the strikes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday a deal remained within reach but struck a firm note on the Hormuz strait.

"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 during a visit to India, without commenting about the impact of the strikes.

He said the strait was "going to be open one way or the other," adding: "What's happening there is unlawful, it's illegal, it's unsustainable for the world, it's unacceptable."

Iran's state-run broadcaster IRIB reported several loud explosions were heard in the vicinity of Bandar Abbas at around midnight local time (2030 GMT Monday).

It added the situation in the southern port city was normal and local authorities were investigating the cause of the blasts.

The strikes threatened a ceasefire that began April 8 as the United States and Iran struggle to reach an accord to end a war that has rattled the global economy with a severe disruption of energy flows.

Oil prices fluctuated on Tuesday morning but remained below $100, with West Texas Intermediate dropping more than five percent while international benchmark Brent crude was up.

Hopes of an accord took another blow when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "crush" Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has demanded that any peace accord apply to the fighting in Lebanon as well.

- Nuclear fuel disposal -

Trump also said in a social media post he expected Iran to hand over its enriched uranium to the United States to be destroyed, or have it destroyed in Iran with an international witness.

The nuclear fuel "will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event," Trump wrote.

It was not clear whether he meant this would be part of a potential accord with Iran, and the commission he cited was abolished in 1974.

Earlier Monday, Trump said it should be mandatory for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements brokered in 2020 with nations historically hostile to Israel, as part of a peace deal with Iran.

Trump said he had spoken to the leaders of those countries Saturday about efforts to end the war. Bahrain and the UAE have already signed the accords, along with Morocco and Sudan.

While the Abraham Accords were welcomed by some, they remain deeply unpopular in many parts of the Middle East -- in part because they fail to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have said normalization with Israel depends on the creation of a Palestinian state.

- No imminent deal -

Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington said Gulf nations were unlikely to accept Trump's maximalist demand.

"The national security of the Gulf states has been threatened more than ever before because of President Trump's reckless decisions, and he expects Arab states to thank him and to normalize relations with Israel, which they will not do at this stage," she said.

Before the strikes on Iran, Rubio had suggested a deal could be reached by the end of Monday.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said both sides had "reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues" but that it did not mean an agreement was "imminent".

Netanyahu said Monday he had ordered an "even greater acceleration" of the Israeli offensive in Lebanon following Hezbollah drone attacks on Israeli forces.

He said any final deal with Iran "must eliminate the nuclear threat entirely," a position echoed by Washington.

Iranian officials have stressed that, despite the longstanding US demand for an end to its uranium enrichment, talks on its nuclear program have been deferred until after an initial agreement.

H.Darwish--SF-PST