Iran Negotiations Day 11: U.S. and Iran Trade Strikes as Peace Hopes Fade

Following American strikes on Iran, Tehran struck U.S. bases in the Middle East early Sunday as the future of peace negotiations outlined in a June 17 interim agreement remained uncertain.

In a post on Truth Social published Saturday night, President Donald Trump said, “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”

The exchange of strikes followed an Iranian drone attack, the second in recent days, on a vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz outside a route designated by Tehran, with Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority warning ships to use government-approved corridors.

Iran’s IRGC military force said early on Sunday that it had launched missile and drone strikes targeting eight U.S. military targets in Kuwait and the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. The IRGC threatened a “complete halt” of negotiations if U.S. strikes continue.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said that a residential building was hit by an Iranian strike overnight.

Israel’s campaign in Lebanon has complicated talks to end the Iran war. The memorandum of understanding signed by the American and Iranian presidents calls for an end to the Iran War on all fronts, including Lebanon.

Speaking in Baghdad on Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the U.S. “should live up to its responsibility and force” Israel to stop bombing Lebanon and withdraw troops from the country, noting that “this was the first clause of the MOU.” In a statement carried by Tasnim News agency Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that “the full implementation of the first clause of the memorandum of understanding — namely ending [Israel]’s military operations against Lebanon and ensuring the withdrawal of occupying forces from all occupied Lebanese territories — is a necessary requirement for reaching a final and sustainable agreement.”

Further complicating implementation of the MOU is a separate deal spearheaded by Secretary of State Marco Rubio which enlists the Lebanese and Israeli governments together for the task of “disarming” Hezbollah. 

Hezbollah, which has significant support among Lebanon’s Muslim population, has said that such a framework would lead to “civil war,” and has vowed to continue fighting until Israeli soldiers withdraw from territory they occupy.