fresh U.S. – U.S. forces carried out new defensive strikes against Iran on Wednesday, shooting down four one-way attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz and striking a ground control station in Bandar Abbas. The action followed President Donald Trump’s Cabinet remarks that
The timing was unmistakable: while President Donald Trump was telling his Cabinet that Iran was “negotiating on fumes,” U.S. forces were moving again.
On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command carried out new defensive strikes on Iran after Trump insisted the conflict would not be dictated by the United States’ November midterm elections. The strikes came as the administration continues to look for a settlement it says would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and give Trump a political case that Iran’s nuclear capability has been sufficiently diminished.
In the latest episode, U.S. forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz. according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The U.S. military also struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.
The administration’s messaging has emphasized restraint, and the new strikes followed a prior set of actions. On Monday, the Pentagon described “defensive” strikes on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran. The United States has said it acted with restraint in both Monday and Wednesday’s military moves in light of a fragile. weekslong ceasefire that continues to hold.
Trump’s remarks landed earlier in the day, during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday when he expressed confidence that his administration was making headway on settling the war, even as talks remain in flux. He said he wasn’t concerned that the midterms would force his hand.
“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.”
Later, he acknowledged there was still work to do but spoke with a steady sense of expectation 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.”
Inside the White House’s political calculations, the war has been unpopular with many Republicans, but the president is pursuing an outcome that can be defended as closure—an ending that does not leave the conflict dangling.
That’s where the friction has intensified. The administration’s emerging deal is expected to put off many critical issues for later. and it has already drawn criticism even from some Trump allies who say Iran’s hardline leadership could come out of the confrontation battered but emboldened. Republicans are also worrying about the broader political mood, as rising costs and fuel prices darken the electorate’s outlook.
While Trump continues to project momentum, there is daylight between the United States and Iran on several points that are still unresolved.
One of the most contentious is the fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium. Under the potential deal discussed publicly. Tehran would give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium—a key Trump demand—in return for sanctions relief. That arrangement was described by two regional officials and one senior Trump administration official. all speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.
One regional official. with direct knowledge of the talks. said Iran’s surrender of the uranium would be subject to further discussions during a 60-day period. adding that some material would likely be diluted while the rest would be transferred to a third country. Trump. however. said on Wednesday he “wouldn’t be comfortable” with either Russia or China taking Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Nuclear analysts have said Russia or China could be potential acceptable third parties to take possession of the enriched uranium as part of a deal.
The numbers underscore what’s at stake in the bargaining. Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity—a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%—according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium.
The uncertainty extends beyond nuclear terms and into the region’s wars. A key unresolved issue is whether any ceasefire would cover Israel’s operations against Hezbollah. the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that Lebanon must be covered by any ceasefire negotiated with the United States.
The administration’s emerging memorandum of understanding calls for a ceasefire between the United States and its allies against Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah, while also underscoring Israel’s right to act against imminent threats and in self-defense.
On the ground. Israel’s military and Iran-backed Hezbollah continue to clash along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north. Jonathan Conricus. a former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces and a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. said Israel expects Iran to direct any sanctions relief quickly toward restoring its military capability and boosting proxy groups. including Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza.
“We’re not done fighting, because the Iranian regime isn’t done,” Conricus said.
The widening debate has also spilled into Trump’s broader Middle East diplomacy. On Wednesday. he reinforced his position that a deal should include requirements for additional countries—including Kuwait. Saudi Arabia. Qatar and Pakistan—to join the Abraham Accords. The Abraham Accords are the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump’s first term aimed at normalizing diplomatic and economic relations with Israel.
“We’re, you know, requesting strongly that they join,” Trump said.
His optimism about rapid sign-ons may be hard to match with existing demands. Saudi Arabia. the most significant power in the Arab world and long seen as the biggest prize for normalization efforts. has insisted that establishing a guaranteed path to a Palestinian state remains a precondition—something Israel opposes.
During a call with leaders of Middle East allies over the weekend, Trump pushed for the Abraham Accords. Barbara Leaf, a retired U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and a senior State Department official during President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration. said officials from Gulf countries who were on the call told her that Trump’s pitch was met with “stunned silence.”.
A person familiar with the call disputed that characterization, saying some regional allies responded positively to Trump’s pitch to join the accords.
In the midst of that diplomatic uncertainty. the new American strikes underline the central contradiction of the moment: the president says the United States is not waiting on politics or deadlines. while the conflict itself remains fluid enough for military action to follow Cabinet confidence almost immediately. The fragile ceasefire still holds. but the deal—described as within reach—is still not finished. and the terms that would determine who emerges stronger remain unresolved.
United States politics Trump Iran U.S. strikes Central Command Strait of Hormuz Bandar Abbas one-way drones ceasefire nuclear deal highly enriched uranium Abraham Accords Hezbollah Lebanon midterm elections sanctions relief Kuwait Saudi Arabia Qatar Pakistan
So it’s just “fumes” and then boom drones. Got it.
That headline is wild. Didn’t Trump say Iran was negotiating on fumes, like… literally? I’m confused how that matches up with “defensive strikes,” seems like a pretty clear message either way.
Wait, they shot down four one-way drones and hit a ground control station… so wasn’t that the whole point of one-way drones? Like, if they were “one-way,” why did the station even matter? Also midterms being mentioned feels like they’re blaming politics for protecting ships.
I don’t trust any of this, the article says anonymous officials blah blah. “Negotiating on fumes” sounds like a joke until people get hurt. And Bandar Abbas?? That’s where my cousin’s friend said stuff was already bad like months ago, so it’s not surprising. Feels like they’re trying to make it a political win before the elections and calling it defense.