US military says intercepted missiles launched by Iran

The US military announced Tuesday that it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran, ending a short period of reduced tensions between the two adversaries. The attempted surprise attack by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps occurred in the late afternoon Eastern Time.

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All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted.

Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on X that all Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted, though it did not specify the intended targets. This incident marks an escalation after a brief respite where both sides had held fire over the weekend.

The lull followed nearly two weeks of intense exchanges, including nightly strikes by the United States against Iran and repeated missile and drone attacks by Tehran targeting allies of Washington in the Gulf region. The mid-July flare-up in fighting was triggered by Iran's attacks on several ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

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At 5.45pm ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East.

Earlier, oil prices had seen a decline following the weekend's quiet period. This calm coincided with US President Donald Trump expressing optimism about potential progress in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.

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there was a "good chance" of progress in negotiations to end the war.