By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. military carried out new strikes overnight in Iran targeting a military site and shooting down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military site that was struck was an Iranian ground control station in Iran’s Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.
The U.S. military strikes, which have not been previously reported, came during negotiations to end a three-month-old war that has killed thousands and sent global energy prices sharply higher since it began on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli attacks.
“These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” the official said.
U.S. President Donald Trump earlier on Wednesday dismissed a Iranian state media report that Iran and Oman would jointly manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a peace deal. Trump said the waterway would remain open.
The U.S. last carried out what it called defensive strikes against Iran on Monday, in what Iran called a violation of the countries’ fragile ceasefire. The U.S. targets included boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites that the U.S. military’s Central Command said posed a threat to U.S. forces.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Lincoln Feast)
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