JAKARTA - The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the United States had violated the ceasefire with an attack in Iran's southern Hormozgan Province.
The US military carried out strikes on targets including a vessel attempting to deploy mines and a missile launch site in southern Iran on Monday, in what it described as a defensive action.
Iranian media reported on Tuesday morning that explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas in the province.
"The United States has committed a grave violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region in the last 48 hours. Iran holds the US regime responsible for all the consequences resulting from this aggressive and unjustified action," the statement said, citing Al Arabiya from Reuters (26/5).
Previously, the latest US "defensive" attack on Iran "did not indicate" that the ceasefire had ended, Fox News reported, citing two sources.
US forces attacked a missile site in southern Iran and vessels attempting to lay mines on Monday, the US Central Command (US CENTCOM) said, jeopardizing a fragile ceasefire and raising fresh doubts about a deal to end the Middle East war.
"US forces conducted a defensive strike in southern Iran today to protect our forces from threats posed by Iranian forces," said Tim Hawkins, spokesman for Central Command, in a statement.
The statement did not provide details of the attack and only said the targets included a missile launch site and vessels attempting to "lay mines."
The attack came as Iran's chief negotiators arrived in Doha for the latest round of talks to end the months-long conflict.
Despite the attack, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said a deal could still be reached, but offered a firm note on the Strait of Hormuz.
"There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we'll see if we can make progress. I think there was a lot of back and forth on specific language in the initial document, so it will take a few days," Foreign Minister Rubio told reporters during his visit to India, without commenting on the impact of the attack.
He said the strait "will remain open in one way or another," adding: "What is happening there is against the law, illegal, unsustainable for the world, unacceptable."
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