US, Iran exchange fire as negotiations stall

The United States and Iran said Monday they had again exchanged strikes, further straining a fragile cease-fire as negotiations aimed at ending the war remain stalled.

Weeks of difficult talks marked by sharp rhetoric and periodic violence have failed to produce an agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies.

Washington and Tehran remain divided over key issues, including Iran's nuclear program and the fighting in Lebanon, which Tehran insists must be addressed as part of any broader deal.

The latest exchange came as Israel expanded its offensive in Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to push deeper into the country.

The U.S. military said it carried out "self-defense strikes" over the weekend against Iranian radar and drone-control sites in southern Iran, its third such operation in just over a week. It said the strikes were in response to the downing of a U.S. MQ-1 drone.

Shortly afterward, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted an air base used by the U.S. military to launch the strikes, according to state broadcaster IRIB. The Guard did not specify the base's location.

The announcement followed a statement from Kuwait's military saying its air defenses had intercepted "hostile missile and drone attacks." Kuwait did not identify the source of the attack.

Nuclear talks remain deadlocked

Iran was already engaged in talks with Washington over its nuclear program when U.S. and Israeli air and missile strikes in February killed much of the Islamic Republic's senior leadership.

Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes, while the United States and its allies suspect it is seeking to develop a nuclear weapon.

The New York Times and Axios reported Saturday that President Donald Trump had sent Iran a tougher revised proposal, though details remain unclear.

Trump has said his priorities include preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded since the war began.

"The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons," Trump said in an interview with Fox News. "They've agreed to that."

Late Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the proposed agreement "states, very clearly, that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon."

Iranian officials have cast doubt on Trump's characterization of the talks.

"We will not approve any agreement until we are certain that the rights of the Iranian people have been upheld," Iran's lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a video broadcast on state television.

Tasnim News Agency reported that negotiations over the draft text remain ongoing, with both sides continuing to propose amendments.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that "until a clear conclusion is reached ... everything that is being said now is speculation," according to state television.

Iran has demanded the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before entering substantive nuclear talks. Iranian media also dismissed Trump's earlier claim that Tehran's stockpile of enriched uranium would be destroyed under an agreement.

Trump faces pressure to secure a deal that would end competing U.S. and Iranian restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz.

After Trump said Iran would charge "no tolls" on ships transiting the waterway under any agreement, Iran's Fars news agency cited sources saying "no such clause" exists.

ISNA quoted lawmaker Alireza Salimi on Saturday as saying parliament would soon consider a proposal to formalize Iranian "management and sovereignty" over the strait, including the collection of "administrative fees."

Fighting intensifies in Lebanon

Tehran has repeatedly insisted that any broader agreement must address Lebanon, where fighting continues.

Beirut has accused Israel of pursuing a "scorched-earth policy" as it expands operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

A cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah formally took effect April 17, but Israel continues to violate it daily.

An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed eight people Sunday, including three women, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting Monday on Israel's expanding offensive after Israeli forces captured the medieval Beaufort Castle, diplomatic sources told AFP.

Netanyahu described the seizure of Beaufort as "a dramatic shift."