US forces struck missile launch sites and what it said were boats attempting to lay mines in southern Iran on early Tuesday Kyiv time, as Iranian negotiators held talks with Qatari mediators in Doha amid a seven-week ceasefire between Tehran and Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a potential deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran could “take a few days,” as a series of strikes threatened an already fragile ceasefire and raised new questions about its durability.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The US Central Command said the strikes were carried out “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces” and described them as defensive, adding that they did not signal a breakdown of the ceasefire. Iranian news website Tabnak said four members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were killed in the strikes on boats near Bandar Abbas, a city at the Strait of Hormuz. The city has a dual-use airport and is home to a military port. The strikes were the second major attacks to take place during the seven-week ceasefire, and came as the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, led a delegation of negotiators to Qatar. Speaking to reporters in Jaipur, India, on Tuesday, Rubio said that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened “one way or the other,” adding a deal was still within reach – but not imminent. “There were some discussions occurring in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make headway. I believe it will require a few days,” Rubio said, according to Reuters.