Friday's airstrikes against Iran mark the first U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets since the memorandum of understanding was signed on June 17, and the first test of whether the peace process it launched can withstand direct attacks between its signatories.
The strikes were designed with the goal of having a large enough scope to send a strong message on freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and provide a "course correction," but limited enough to avoid restarting the conflict and significantly derailing diplomacy, a U.S. official said -- adding the caveat that whether or how Iran chose to respond would play a big part in that.
The official said there was initially some debate within the administration over whether it was necessary to launch a military response to Iran's drone strike on the Singapore-flagged cargo ship, but that chilling effect on traffic in the strait and Tehran's messaging on managing the waterway drove the decision.
On U.S.-Iran negotiations, working-level groups have been continuing to work on key areas, and a fresh round of technical talks is currently scheduled to resume at the beginning of next week in Switzerland.
-ABC News' Shannon Kingston