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Iran live updates: US forces conduct 'self-defense' strikes in Iran, CENTCOM says

U.S. forces targeted missile launch sites and boats, according to CENTCOM.

Last Updated: May 25, 2026, 7:18 PM EDT

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.

Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other."

May 25, 2026, 7:18 PM EDT

US forces target missile launch sites, boats in 'self-defense' strikes in Iran: CENTCOM

U.S. forces on Monday launched what U.S. Central Command described as "self-defense strikes" in southern Iran.

"U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces," CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement. "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."

A U.S. Navy fighter jet launches from aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
US Navy

The strikes were conducted in the area of Bandar Abbas, which is where Iran's main naval base is located, according to Hawkins. 

A U.S. official described the scope of the strikes as "very small." 

-ABC News' Steven Beynon

May 25, 2026, 6:44 PM EDT

Trump says preference is Iran's enriched uranium be destroyed 'in place' or 'another acceptable location'

President Donald Trump said Iran's enriched uranium can be turned and destroyed in the U.S., but that his preference is for it to be destroyed "in place" or at "another acceptable location," with IAEA oversight.

“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, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform.

This presents a shift as Trump has long demanded that Iran hand over its enriched uranium to the U.S. as a sticking point of any potential deal.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, May 25, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.
Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images

In April, Trump said: "The U.S.A. will get all Nuclear 'Dust,' created by our great B2 Bombers - No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form."

Last week, Trump said that getting the enriched uranium is important for the U.S. "psychologically."

Trump has also repeatedly insisted that Iran has admitted to him that only the U.S. has the capability to uncover and obtain the so-called "nuclear dust."

-ABC News' Emily Chang

May 25, 2026, 3:48 PM EDT

Israel will 'intensify' strikes in Lebanon, Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will "intensify" strikes in Lebanon.

"We are not taking our foot off the gas. On the contrary, I have instructed them to press the pedal even harder," he said in a video message on Monday.

"What is required from us now is to intensify the blows, increase the force," he said. "We will strike them decisively."

The message comes as the Israel Defense Forces said Monday it struck more than 70 "Hezbollah infrastructure sites" across Lebanon.

May 25, 2026, 1:27 PM EDT

Trump honors troops killed in Iran war

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, May 25, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

President Donald Trump honored the 13 service members killed during the war in Iran while delivering Memorial Day remarks at Arlington National Cemetery.

"In Operation Epic Fury, we lost 13 wonderful souls, wonderful special people," he said. "These incredible men and women gave their lives to ensure that the world's number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon. Oh, and they won't. They will never have a nuclear weapon."

Seven service members died following the opening wave of Iranian retaliatory attacks across the Middle East, and six Air Force airmen were killed when a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, salute during the Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Va.
Rod Lamkey/AP Photo/Rod Lamkey

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