Ahead of the probable talks between Iran and the United States, the US military said they foild Iranian missile fired at Kuwait and Bahrain on Tuesday (local time). According to a report by news agency Associated Press, US has also launched strikes on an Iran facility in retaliatiob. US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees planning and military operations in the Middle Eastern region, said the strikes were on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz, that is home to a desalination plant.
Iran fired missiles towards US's allies
Iran had fired missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain-- the two US's non-NATO allies of America. However, the US forces claimed the missiles failed to hit their targets. The two fired at Kuwait fell apart en route, while US and Bahrain forces intercepted the missiles aimed at Bahrain.
Have the mediation talks stopped?
The activity happened after Iran stopped communicating with mediators about extending a ceasefire in the war with the US and Israel, according to reports Tuesday from two semiofficial Iranian news agencies.
US President Donald Trump disputed the claim and said talks were continuing.
The reports by the Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both believed to be close to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, came as tensions flared in Israel's separate-but-related fight against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran had not communicated at all: Official
A regional official involved in the mediation, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks, told The Associated Press that Iran had not communicated at all on Tuesday after saying that a ceasefire needed to be enforced in Lebanon for negotiations to continue.
In other developments, the US military said it fired a missile to halt another oil tanker trying to reach an Iranian port in violation of the American blockade. It was the seventh ship stopped by the military while trying to run the blockade, U.S. Central Command said in a social media post. The Botswana-flagged merchant vessel M/T Lexie was stopped by an aircraft firing a Hellfire missile into its engine room after the crew ignored repeated warnings over 24 hours, the post said.
Trump's contradictory claims on Iran-US peace talks
Trump called reports of a cessation in talks false and erroneous. The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago and today, Trump said in a social media post. "Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, It's time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal."
You may also like to watch