The expert spoke about the goals of the US strikes on Iran

Program Manager of the Russian Council on International Affairs (RIAC) Ivan Bocharov, in an interview with the Mail News on Tuesday, May 26, told what goals the United States is pursuing by striking Iran.

The expert pointed out that the US actions conceal an attempt to put pressure on Iran or to test the Islamic Republic's reaction to limited military action. According to him, the nature of Tehran's possible response plays a key role in the situation, since Washington's further military strategy depends on it. The current actions can be seen as an attempt to assess the country's readiness to respond and understand the limits of acceptable escalation, Bocharov explained.

"It is no coincidence that the United States emphasizes maintaining the truce regime, probably with the aim of limiting the scale of a possible response and preventing a full—scale crisis," the expert noted.

In his opinion, strikes against the background of diplomatic contacts undermine trust and reduce the chances of an agreement, while there is no noticeable progress on key issues yet. Iran will probably try to respond in a way that increases costs for the United States and its allies, but not necessarily for direct escalation, but rather to deter further actions, the expert said. He added that in the event of a harsh reaction from Tehran, Washington could accuse it of disrupting the truce, which increases the risk of a new round of conflict.

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Earlier in the day, the United States confirmed that the military had attacked targets in southern Iran. The Central Command of the US Armed Forces (CENTCOM) reported that rocket launchers and ships were attacked in southern Iran, RT said.

The US military also destroyed combat boats that were trying to install sea mines in the waters. 360.ru . The strikes were carried out "in self-defense" to protect US soldiers, the website writes. kp.ru .

Prior to that, on May 24, US President Donald Trump said that the deal with Iran was almost agreed and included the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, the details are still being discussed, and he estimated the chances of an agreement as "50-50," writes IA Regnum.

The next day, Trump said that Washington would not agree to a peace agreement with Iran if it was bad. In his opinion, the United States needs a historic deal, and the American administration will not accept anything less, NSN notes.