Rebecca FalconerAdd Axios as your preferred source tosee more of our stories on Google.Screenshot: U.S. Central CommandU.S. and Iranian forces exchanged strikes Tuesday as peace talks remained stalled and tensions escalated across the Middle East.The big picture: The confrontation widened beyond direct exchanges, with U.S. forces intercepting Iranian missiles and drones and striking targets near the Strait of Hormuz.Driving the news: The U.S. military shot down "multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones" and "conducted self-defense strikes" on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz "in response to attempted attacks by Iran across the Middle East," per a U.S. Central Command statement."Two Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait fell short or broke apart en route, and three missiles launched at Bahrain were immediately intercepted by U.S. and Bahrain air defense forces."CENTCOM said in an earlier statement Tuesday that U.S. forces had "disabled an unladen oil tanker that was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port" in the Persian Gulf.The Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie's crew "ignored repeated warnings," so U.S. forces fired a Hellfire missile into the ship's engine room, "preventing the tanker from reaching Iran," CENTCOM said.What they're saying: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Telegram the strikes were in response to CENTCOM's action on the tanker.Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.