U.S. carries out new strikes against Iranian military site, official says

The U.S. military carried out another round of strikes on Iran, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday, another challenge to a shaky ceasefire between the two countries.

The official described the strikes as defensive, shooting down four Iranian drones and hitting a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth. The drones posed a threat near the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping chokepoint that has been closed since the war began.

The official said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is still considered to be holding.

"These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire," the official added.

Reuters was first to report on the new strikes.

The strikes came just two days after U.S. Central Command confirmed an earlier round of "self-defense strikes" on southern Iran, hitting missile launch sites and Iranian boats that allegedly sought to lay mines. CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said Monday the strikes were carried out to "protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces."

Iran condemned the earlier strikes, calling the move a "grave violation of the ceasefire" and vowing that the Iranian government "will not leave any act of hostility unanswered."

The attacks come as President Trump presses Iran to strike a longer-term agreement with the United States — and threatens to resume a large-scale bombing campaign if Iran does not agree to his terms.

Over the weekend, the president expressed optimism, saying a peace deal had been "largely negotiated." But by Wednesday, Mr. Trump appeared less confident, saying at a Cabinet meeting that the U.S. is "not satisfied."

"Maybe we have to go back and finish it, maybe we don't," Mr. Trump said, adding that he thinks Iran wants to make a deal.

A senior Trump administration official said Sunday that Iran had agreed in principle to a template for a deal, though it could take several days to formalize and sign a final agreement. The deal under discussion would involve a two-step process. First, Iran would immediately allow the Strait of Hormuz to open in exchange for the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iranian ports. After that, the two sides would negotiate on a mechanism for Iran to give up various parts of its nuclear program.

Iran agreed in principle to dispose of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the Trump administration official said. Exactly how the nearly weapons-grade material would be disposed of is unclear. Mr. Trump wrote on social media Monday that the material could either be destroyed in the U.S. or "preferably" in Iran.