US military conducts another defensive strike against Iran

US shoots down Iranian drones as Trump says Tehran ‘negotiating on fumes’ amid Hormuz tensions.

Washington: The US military on Wednesday conducted its second defensive strike this week against Iran after officials said they observed aggressive activity from the Iranian military.

Two US officials told The Associated Press that US military forces shot down four Iranian drones and struck a base that was about to launch a fifth drone after determining they posed a threat to the Strait of Hormuz.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive military operations.

Iran negotiating on fumes: Trump

President Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that Iran is “negotiating on fumes” and insisted that November’s midterm elections will not make him rush into a deal to end the nearly three-month-old conflict that has spurred unease across the global economy.

Speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting, Trump expressed confidence that a deal is near. Over the weekend, he even declared that his administration and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a settlement, though the talks are still in flux.

The president is looking for a settlement that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him with a credible argument that Iran’s nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that has been politically unpopular for Republicans.

But as things stand, Trump also risks finding that closure to his war of choice comes with an unsatisfactory ending.

The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the Republican president to fierce criticism — even from some of his own supporters — that Iran’s hard-line leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened. It all comes to a head just as the midterm elections to determine control of Congress come into focus and as Republicans worry that rising costs and fuel prices are darkening the American electorate’s mood.

But Trump on Wednesday dismissed the idea that the upcoming elections would shape his Iran strategy.

“They thought they were gonna outwait me. You know, ‘We’ll outwait him. He’s got the midterms,'” Trump said. “I don’t care about the midterms.”

Trump acknowledged there is still work to do, but he spoke with a measure of certainty that the two sides would get there.

“They want very much to make a deal,” Trump said. “So far, they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be — either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.”

US’ ‘defensive’ strikes

Talks were further complicated after US forces carried out what the Pentagon called “defensive” strikes on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran on Monday. The US said it acted with “restraint” in light of the weekslong ceasefire, while Iran decried the action as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability”.