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Explainer: After nine straight nights of strikes, where is the US-Iran conflict headed?

The US carried out a ninth consecutive night of military strikes against Iran early on Monday, targeting command centres, missile facilities, air defence systems, maritime assets and communications infrastructure. The latest developments indicate the conflict is expanding beyond direct military exchanges, with growing implications for regional security, global energy supplies and international shipping. Here is what to know. Why are the US strikes continuing? President Donald Trump said US forces had struck Iran “very hard,” describing the operations as retaliation for the deaths of US service members in the Middle East. The latest casualty on the US side came in northern Iraq, where a service member was killed during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance recovered from a downed Iranian drone. According to American media, at least 17 US soldiers have been killed since Feb 28, when the US and Israel attacked Iran. Strait of Hormuz at the heart of the co...

Trump claims Iran gave US 20 boats of oil 'out of a sign of respect'

US President Donald Trump claimed on Sunday that Iran is sending the United States 20 oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday morning. "And now, today, they gave us, as a tribute — I don't know, I can't define it exactly, but they gave us, I think out of a sign of respect, 20 boats of oil — big, big boats of oil — going through the Hormuz Strait, and that's taking place starting tomorrow morning," he told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, DC. "I would only say that we're doing extremely well in that negotiation," Trump said. He added that he is "pretty sure” the US will make a deal with Iran, “but it's possible we won't.” "I do see a deal in Iran," he said, adding it "could be soon." Trump also said the US is negotiating with Iran both "directly and indirectly." Read: Trump calls Iran's current leaders 'very reasonable' as Pakistan prepares to host talks When asked whether he is still considering putting boots on the ground, he said the US has "lots of alternatives." "We're ahead of schedule with Iran. We're weeks ahead of schedule...and we have a group, it's really a new regime. It's a new group of people — people that we've never dealt with before, that are acting very reasonable," he said. Iran last Wednesday rejected a 15-point plan from the US to end the war, saying any ceasefire would take place only on Tehran’s terms and timeline. When Trump was asked whether Iran had responded to his proposed 15-point plan, he said: "Yeah...They gave us most of the points — why wouldn't they?" "Just to prove that they're serious, they gave us all of these boats," he added.

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