The U.S. military on Wednesday carried out strikes in Iran and near the Strait of Hormuz after Iran launched a series of one-way drones, a U.S. official said.

“Today, U.S. Central Command Forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz,” the official said in an email to The Epoch Times, adding that, “U.S. forces also struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.”

The official emphasized that the actions were not a violation of the U.S. ceasefire with Iran. They said the strikes were “measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire.”

The strikes came as negotiations between the United States and Iran continue amid efforts to end the now three-month-old war that has raised global energy prices dramatically. 

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran is “negotiating on fumes,” expressing confidence during a Cabinet meeting that headway was being made toward a deal. 

Trump denied reports from Iranian state media claiming that Iran and Oman would jointly manage shipping through the critical Strait of Hormuz as part of a draft peace agreement. 

The U.S. president also told reporters that the approaching midterms wouldn’t fundamentally sway his decision-making—or timing—in any potential deal with Iran. 

“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 suggested that while there was a willingness on Iran’s side to make a deal, the path toward any agreement remains uncertain. 

“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.”

Trump has said Iran’s terrorism-backing regime should never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. A key demand from the U.S. president has been for Iran to relinquish its entire supply of highly enriched uranium, and he has in the past even called for Iran’s civilian nuclear power program to be shut down. Iran has previously resisted the demand. 

The two nations are also divided over the status of Israel’s war against Hezbollah—an Iran-backed terror group—in Lebanon. Initially, Iran had perceived that conflict to be included in its ceasefire with the United States, which U.S. officials later indicated had been a misunderstanding. 

Earlier this week, the U.S. military carried out strikes on missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in Iran, calling the strikes defensive. U.S. officials have stated that U.S. forces have exercised restraint in light of the fragile ceasefire.