The United States has launched strikes on targets in southern Iran, the US military has said, as Tehran’s top negotiators gather in Qatar for talks aimed at reaching a peace deal with Washington.US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it carried out the “self-defence strikes” to protect US troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines,” Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesperson, said in a statement to Al Jazeera late on Monday.“US Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”CENTCOM did not provide further details on the strikes.Iranian sources told Al Jazeera that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had targeted a vessel at sea before the US strikes.Several IRGC personnel were killed in the attacks, according to the sources.The latest attacks come despite there being a ceasefire officially in place between the US and Iran since April 8.Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said the strikes are likely to derail the ongoing negotiations to end the US-Israel war on Iran as US President Donald Trump is “keen” to reach a deal.“There have been a number of skirmishes like this, particularly just after the start of the ceasefire. At the time, Trump said he didn’t consider these to be a breach of the ceasefire,” Fisher said.“There is very limited informatio …
