Qatar denies reports of $12 billion offer to Iran

The US military carried out strikes in southern Iran on Monday targeting boats allegedly attempting to lay mines as well as missile launch sites, US Central Command said.

CENTCOM described the operations as “defensive actions” intended “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.”

The statement came after reports of clashes and explosions near Bandar Abbas and the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the day.

“U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesperson, said.

Several people were reported killed after what Iranian outlet SNN described as a US-Israeli attack on the southern part of Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz early Monday local time.

Citing local sources, the report named three of the alleged victims as Abbas Eslami, Ghodrat Zarangari and Abdolreza Golzari, though the total number of casualties remains unclear.

There were also unconfirmed reports that those killed were affiliated with the IRGC.

Oil prices dropped sharply Monday amid growing optimism that the United States and Iran may be moving closer to an agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures fell nearly 7% to around $96 a barrel by mid-afternoon, retreating from the four-year highs reached earlier in the crisis as diplomacy gathered pace in Doha.

The decline followed renewed signals from US President Donald Trump that negotiations with Tehran were advancing, though major disagreements remain unresolved.

Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem says an Iranian source claimed heavy gunfire heard near Bandar Abbas began after the IRGC targeted a vessel at sea, followed by US fighter jets striking IRGC naval boats in the Gulf.

According to the source, several IRGC Navy personnel were killed.

“The situation is still unfolding,” the source said.

US President Donald Trump said Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile must either be handed over to the United States for destruction or eliminated under international supervision.

“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He added that the process should take place in the presence of the “Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent,” as negotiations between Tehran and Washington continue through regional mediators.