{"text":[[{"start":8.45,"text":"The US has conducted strikes on Iranian missile launch sites and boats that it said were laying mines, in a sign the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran may be coming under strain."}],[{"start":19.85,"text":"“US forces conducted self-defence strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats from Iranian forces,” Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command, which oversees military operations against the country, said on Monday evening. "}],[{"start":34.3,"text":"“Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines,” he said, adding Centcom acted to “defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire”. "}],[{"start":45.949999999999996,"text":"The strikes are the latest carried out by the US against Iran as Washington tries to move beyond a fragile ceasefire brokered in early April that helped end almost six weeks of fighting. "}],[{"start":57,"text":"The attack came as negotiations between the two nations appeared to be entering a crucial phase. Talks have intensified over the past week after US President Donald Trump signalled he could breach the ceasefire and resume strikes on Tehran. "}],[{"start":71.7,"text":"Prices for Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 1.5 per cent to $97.48 a barrel at the open in Asia but is still below Friday’s closing price of $103.54. US oil traded around $91.22 a barrel, up 1.5 per cent. "}],[{"start":91.4,"text":"Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and lead negotiator, and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, travelled to Qatar on Monday, in an effort to thrash out a deal that would extend the ceasefire by 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":107.80000000000001,"text":"Trump signalled over the weekend that Washington and Tehran were close to completing an agreement. Earlier on Monday he posted on his Truth Social platform that the talks were “proceeding nicely!”"}],[{"start":119.25000000000001,"text":"“It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that,” he added. "}],[{"start":131,"text":"But Tehran publicly cautioned that while progress was being made, it did not consider a deal to be imminent. "}],[{"start":138.15,"text":"“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” said Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson. “But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim.”"}],[{"start":154.1,"text":"Earlier on Monday Iranian media reported explosions were heard at several locations in southern Iran close to the contested strait, including at the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Sirik and Jask. "}],[{"start":166.04999999999998,"text":"The White House, in response to a request for comment about what the strikes meant for the ongoing negotiations with Iran, referred the FT back to the earlier Centcom statement."}],[{"start":176.2,"text":"The conflict has sparked a surge in petrol prices that has hit Trump’s popularity in the polls ahead of midterm elections in November that will determine whether his Republican Party can retain a majority in both houses of Congress. "}],[{"start":191.5,"text":"Trump has repeatedly said he wants Iran to hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of any deal with Tehran. "}],[{"start":200.15,"text":"Trump posted on Monday that the uranium “will either be immediately turned over to the United States . . . or, preferably, in conjunction with the Islamic republic of Iran, destroyed in place, or at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event”."}],[{"start":218.9,"text":"The strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the Israeli military to intensify its attacks against Hizbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, in Lebanon. "}],[{"start":231.1,"text":"“We are at war with Hizbollah,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on Monday. “We are not taking our foot off the gas. On the contrary, I have instructed them to press the pedal even harder,” he added. "}],[{"start":242.85,"text":"Israel on Monday said it had struck more than 70 Hizbollah sites across Lebanon. Iran has repeatedly said Lebanon should be covered by any long-term peace agreement with Washington. "}],[{"start":254.29999999999998,"text":"Additional reporting by William Sandlund in Hong Kong"}],[{"start":266.2,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779765381_6232.mp3"}