Details Emerge in Forced U.S. Attack

Yesterday, as most of us were honoring Memorial Day, the situation in Iran took another turn as the U.S. conducted defensive strikes against Iranian military forces.

The U.S. military attacked Iranian boats that were dropping more mines into the Strait of Hormuz. In retaliation, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to shoot down a U.S. drone and fire at a fighter jet.

As reported by News Nation:

Iran has denounced United States strikes in southern Iran as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability” amid ongoing negotiations to end their nearly three-month conflict.

The U.S. military has characterized Monday’s strikes in Iran as defensive. According to U.S. Central Command, forces were targeting Iranian missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to lay mines.

“U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told NewsNation. “Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned Tuesday that Gulf powers would no longer shield U.S. military bases in the region, declaring Washington had lost its safe haven as the two countries negotiate a deal.

The remarks come as tensions remained high, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps reporting it had shot down a U.S. drone and fired on a fighter jet it said had violated Iranian airspace.

Meanwhile, the Iranian negotiating team returned to Doha on Tuesday for a meeting with Qatari officials, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to NewsNation, to discuss securing a deal to end the war.

The strikes were the latest flare-up in the fragile ceasefire that has largely held since it began April 7.

Sadly, it had appeared – at least for a moment – that we were on the brink of a deal, and an end to the military action. And then last night, came strikes that Iran is characterizing as a breach in the ceasefire.

The United States military is calling these self-defense strikes, which were a direct response to Iranian boats that were attempting to place more mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The military sank them to protect our own troops and also all nations that utilize the Strait. Of course, Iran then retaliated by shooting surface-to-air missiles at American aircraft. By all reports, Iran was unsuccessful, failing to hit any American targets.

Now it seems less likely that a deal with Iran is imminent.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the status of negotiations with Iran this morning, stating:

Well, look, I think our position is well stated. The President had a very important, I think, historic call just a couple of days ago with a number of leaders from the region. I think there’s strong alignment and agreement on what a preliminary draft should look like. I think, like anything with something like this, it’s going to take a couple of days to settle on even down to the disagreements over a word, a sentence. So, we’ll have to work through that. If there’s going to be a deal, we’re going to have to work through that. But this is, you know, it’s either going to be a good deal, or there isn’t going to be one.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more discussion of the defensive strikes in Iran, and why they were necessary, as well as speculation about where negotiations go from here. We were also joined by U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Ric Grenell to discuss Iran and a despicable – and since-deleted – social media post by the DNC politicizing fallen soldiers on Memorial Day.

Watch the full broadcast below: