Trump denies that negotiations have stalled. Iran bombs US bases in Kuwait
US President Donald Trump denied the validity of media reports that the United States and Iran have stopped communications, stressing that the ongoing talks through mediators have not been interrupted in the past days.
Trump said in a post on his platform "Truth Social" on Tuesday that reports that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States had stopped communicating were "false and false," noting that the talks continued continuously over the last few days, including the day and the four days before it.
He added that the path and outcome of these talks "is still unclear, but he confirmed that he has told Iran that the time has come to reach an agreement," adding, "As I said to Iran, the time has come, one way or another, to make a deal, you have been doing this for 47 years, and this situation cannot be allowed to continue any longer."
Iran protests Lebanon's continued bombing
Earlier, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that the Iranian negotiating team stopped exchanging messages with the US side through mediators, in protest against the violation of the ceasefire in Lebanon, after striking statements by Iranian officials about the connection between the developments in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon within what Tehran describes as the resistance front.
The agency stated that in light of the continuation of the "crimes of the Zionist entity" in Lebanon, and given that Lebanon was part of the terms of the ceasefire, and with the continued violation of this agreement on various fronts, including Lebanon, the Iranian negotiating team will suspend the talks and exchange messages through mediators.
Rubio: Progress in Iran talks could reopen the Strait of Hormuz
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday during a briefing to the US Senate that the ongoing negotiations with Iran may help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that reaching an agreement between the two sides "may be possible in the near future", expressing hope that these talks will contribute to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio stressed that Iran is required to enter into detailed negotiations on the fate of highly enriched uranium, which is still stored in mountainous locations inside the country, stressing the need to reach an agreement that imposes long-term restrictions or ends Iran's enrichment activities.
Asked when a possible deal would be reached, Rubio did not specify a clear timetable, but indicated that it could happen soon, pointing out that it could take up to 6 days to get responses from the Iranian side due to the nature of the indirect negotiations.
Rubio, on the other hand, denied that Washington had discussed or offered to ease sanctions on Iran or release its frozen assets in exchange for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Naval confrontations and exchange of shelling in the Strait of Hormuz and Qeshm Island
On the ground, the military situation in the Gulf region exploded after an Iranian oil tanker was targeted by a missile near the Strait of Hormuz, for which Tehran blamed the United States.
In response, the IRGC announced missile and drone attacks targeting the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, an air base and helicopters stationed in the area.
The escalation deepened after US forces bombed a communications tower belonging to the Revolutionary Guards on Iran's Qeshm Island, resulting in violent explosions on the island bordering the strait, amid Iranian warnings that the cost of destabilizing the Strait of Hormuz would be high for the US military.
Iranian Missile Strikes on Kuwait and Alert in Bahrain
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force announced that it had launched precision and intensive missile strikes targeting US military bases in Kuwait (most notably the Arifjan and Ali al-Salem bases), in response to what it described as the US aggression on Qeshm Island.
The IRGC threatened to turn all the headquarters and interests of the aggressors in the area to ashes if any "new folly" is committed, stressing that "the time of hit and run is over".
For its part, the Kuwaiti army confirmed that the air defense systems successfully repelled enemy missile and drone attacks in the air, and the sounds of explosions were considered to be the result of interception operations.
In conjunction with these strikes, the Bahraini Ministry of Interior sounded early warning in the Kingdom, calling on citizens and residents to go to safe places and maintain calm, while social media platforms circulated videos showing the activation of the air defense system and the interception of missiles in Bahraini airspace.
Kuwait hosts US military bases, including Ali al-Salem Air Base, which was used by US cargo planes to transport aid during the Gaza crisis, and the Arifjan base is a hub for US operations in the region.