A dramatic night in Iran exposed the regime’s growing vulnerability on two fronts: US military pressure from the outside and public unrest from within.
According to a Channel 14 report, CENTCOM forces carried out “self-defense strikes” in southern Iran after IRGC vessels were caught trying to plant sea mines in the blocked Strait of Hormuz. US forces reportedly sank two IRGC boats. Iran then launched surface-to-air missiles at American fighter jets, prompting a major US response that destroyed missile batteries near the Bandar Abbas military base, with powerful explosions also reported near Sirik and Jask.
At the same time, President Trump appears to be raising the stakes in the negotiations with Tehran. He is no longer speaking only about ending the war and reopening shipping lanes, but about connecting any ceasefire to a broader regional normalization process between Israel and Middle Eastern countries. Trump also made clear that Iran’s enriched uranium must either be transferred to the US for destruction or destroyed inside Iran under strict international supervision.
The report says the plan is already facing resistance from several Arab capitals. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are described as unlikely to accept normalization with Israel under current conditions, while critics in Washington warn that a weak agreement with Tehran could erase the military achievements already gained.