Iran Threatens Retaliation After New U.S. Strikes—Hours After Nearing Peace Deal

BreakingBusinessIran Threatens Retaliation After New U.S. Strikes—Hours After Nearing Peace DealBySara Dorn,Forbes Staff. Sara Dorn is a Forbes news reporter who covers politics.Follow AuthorMay 26, 2026, 08:28am EDTToplineIran threatened to retaliate against the U.S. after it conducted so-called “self-defense strikes” against Iranian forces on Monday, escalating tensions amid a fragile ceasefire hours after President Donald Trump said negotiations to end the war were “proceeding nicely.” Demonstrators carry a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei after a ceremony to commemorate civilians and military personnel who were killed during military operations involving the United States and Israel, at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in downtown Tehran, Iran, on May 24, 2026. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)NurPhoto via Getty ImagesKey FactsThe Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it “considers its right to retaliate legitimate and definite,” the IRNA state news agency reported Tuesday after the U.S. attacked two Iranian vessels it said were attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and fired on missile-launch sites.The IRGC said it shot down a U.S. drone and engaged a U.S. fighter jet in the crossfire, IRNA reported. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei also said Tuesday the U.S. would no longer have “a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases” in the Middle East, calling on Muslim countries to band together to cease serving “as shields for U.S. bases.”This is a developing story and will be updated.Got a tip? Share confidential information with Forbes.Editorial StandardsReprints & PermissionsLOADING VIDEO PLAYER...FORBES’ FEATURED Video