US strikes Iranian sites after Iran launches drones, in latest Gulf flare-up
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U.S. forces struck Iranian coastal radar sites on Saturday after shooting down drones launched by Iran toward the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military said, in the latest escalation complicating efforts to end the war between the two countries.The U.S. military believes the four Iranian drones were targeting regional maritime traffic, a U.S. official told Reuters. U.S. Central Command said on X that the U.S. then struck Iran’s surveillance sites in Goruk and Qeshm Island, which are both on the Strait of Hormuz.Iran’s foreign ministry said the U.S. action broke an April 8 ceasefire, adding that repeated violations showed Washington had no intention of reducing tensions. It warned that the United States would bear responsibility for the consequences of its “illegal actions” and any further escalation.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had attacked U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for U.S. strikes and fired at four tankers trying to cross the strait without its permission.Kuwait’s army said on Saturday it engaged seven ballistic missiles that entered the country’s airspace early in the morning and passed over several residential areas, resulting in the fall of some debris. The army added that the Iranian attack caused material damage but no casualties. In Bahrain sirens sounded and residents were urged to seek shelter.PAKISTANI MINISTER REPORTED EN ROUTE TO TEHRANKuwait and Bahrain condemned the strikes. Kuwait’s foreign ministry described the Iranian attacks, including the latest one on Saturday, as “blatant” aggression that threatened citizens, residents and regional security, a ministry statement said.Iran later said it had hit U.S. bases in both countries with ballistic missiles but the U.S. military said six missiles were intercepted and a seventh did not reach its target.The U.S. and Iran have been engaged in largely indirect negotiations to secure an interim deal to halt the three-month-old war that would leave issues including Iran’s nuclear