The US military said it carried out new strikes on southern Iran, targeting Iranian missile sites and boats attempting to place mines even as negotiations in Doha between Qatari mediators and Iran continued on a peace deal.

The US Central command said the attacks were “self-defense strikes”.

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

Capt Hawkins said the strikes targeted an area near Bandar Abbas, a southern port city and home of an Iranian naval base that sits on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the New York Times.

Meanwhile, Iran said it had downed a "hostile" stealth drone using a new air defence system, Iranian news ​agencies reported, without saying where it had come from.

DEAL NOT IMMINENT

A CNN report said the US and Iran are working toward a “memorandum of understanding,” but disputes over language concerning Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions have held up a deal, according to US officials.

Iran's top negotiator and its foreign minister are in Doha for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the US to end the three-month-old war, an official briefed on ‌the visit said. However, Washington and Tehran played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said some progress has been made in talks with the US, but a deal to end the conflict "is not imminent".

In his latest Truth Social post, Trump said: "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'S CALL ON  ABRAHAM ACCORDS

In an earlier post, Trump urged more Arab ⁠and Muslim states to sign up to the Abraham Accords that aim at normalising ties between those states and Israel. Calling it "mandatory", he said Saudi Arabia and Qatar should immediately sign and Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey should follow suit.

The post said: "After all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together,  it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords. Those Countries discussed are Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates (already a Member!), Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain (already a Member!). It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be. 

"The Abraham Accords have proven to be, for the Countries involved (The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and Kazakhstan), a Financial, Economic, and Social BOOM, even during this time of Conflict and War, with the current Members never even suggesting leaving, or taking so much as even a pause. The reason for this is that the Abraham Accords have been great for them, and will be even better for everybody, and bring true Power, Strength, and Peace to the Middle East for the first time in 5,000 years. It will be a Document respected like no other that has ever been signed, anywhere in the World. Its level of Importance and Prestige will be unparalleled! 

"It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit. If they don’t, they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention. In speaking to numerous of the Great Leaders mentioned above, they would be honored, as soon as our Document is signed, to have the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the Abraham Accords. Wow, now that would be something special! This will be the most important Deal that any of these Great, but always in Conflict Countries, will ever sign. Nothing in the past, or in the future, will surpass it. 

"Therefore, I am mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords, and that, if Iran signs its Agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition. 

"The Middle East would be United, Powerful, and Economically Strong, like perhaps no other area, anywhere in the World! By copy of this TRUTH, I am asking my Representatives to begin, and successfully complete, the process of signing these Countries into the already Historic Abraham Accords," Trump said.

There has been no official reactions yet from the countries mentioned by Trump in the post.