US forces carried out new defensive strikes on Wednesday on an Iran military facility after downing Iranian attack drones, according to US officials.
The officials, who were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said US Central Command forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz.
US forces also struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone, according to the officials.
The strikes came after President Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that Iran is "negotiating on fumes" and insisted that November's midterm elections will not make him rush into a deal to end the nearly three-month-old conflict that has spurred unease across the global economy.
Speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting, Trump expressed confidence that a deal is near. Over the weekend, he even declared that his administration and Tehran had "largely negotiated" a settlement, though the talks are still in flux.
The president is looking for a settlement that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him with a credible argument that Iran's nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that has been politically unpopular for Republicans.
But as things stand, Trump also risks finding that closure to his war of choice comes with an unsatisfactory ending.
The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the Republican president to fierce criticism -- even from some of his own supporters -- that Iran's hardline leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened. It all comes to a head just as the midterm elections to determine control of Congress come into focus and as Republicans worry that rising costs and fuel prices are darkening the American electorate's mood.
But Trump on Wednesday dismissed the idea that the upcoming elections would shape his Iran strategy.
"They thought they were gonna outwait me. You know, 'We'll outwait him. He's got the midterms,'" Trump said. "I don't care about the midterms."
Trump acknowledged there is still work to do, but he spoke with a measure of certainty that the two sides would get there.
"They want very much to make a deal," Trump said. "So far, they haven't gotten there. We're not satisfied with it, but we will be -- either that or we'll have to just finish the job."
Talks were further complicated after US forces carried out what the Pentagon called "defensive" strikes on missile launch sites and minelaying boats in southern Iran on Monday. The US said it acted with "restraint" in light of the weekslong ceasefire, while Iran decried the action as a sign of "bad faith and unreliability". Wednesday's strikes are likely to cause more complications.
Some Trump backers are sceptical
While Trump insists a deal is within reach, there appears to be daylight between the US and Iran on several key issues. The president is also facing scrutiny from Republican allies, including Senators Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ted Cruz of Texas, who have said the terms seem too favourable to Tehran.
They are balking at aspects of the deal that have emerged publicly that they say too closely resemble the nuclear agreement reached with Iran by Democratic President Barack Obama, which Trump scrapped during his first term.
Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium -- a key Trump demand -- in return for sanctions relief. That is according to two regional officials and one senior Trump administration official, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
One regional official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran would give up the uranium would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period. Some would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferred to a third country, the official said.
Trump said that he "wouldn't be comfortable" with either Russia or China taking Iran's stockpile of highly-enriched uranium. The two countries have the closest relations with Tehran, and nuclear analysts have said they could be a potential acceptable third party to the Iranian Republic to take possession of the enriched uranium as part of a potential deal.
Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium.