US, Iran Exchange Strikes In Gulf

The shaky ceasefire between the US and Iran has been tested further, with American forces targeting Iranian drones and radar sites, and Iran firing missiles at US bases in the Gulf.

The US military said the attacks were in response to four Iranian “one-way attack drones” launched towards the Strait of Hormuz, which it said “posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic”. The drones were shot down, US Central Command (Centcom) said.

Tehran called the US strikes a “flagrant” violation of the ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at two US air bases in Kuwait, and US Navy facilities in Bahrain, Iran’s Irib news agency reported.

Bahrain and Kuwait both condemned the attacks, saying the drone and missile fire had been successfully repelled.

Centcom said initial assessments showed that of the seven Iranian missiles fired at the two Gulf states, six were intercepted and one did not reach its target.

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also denounced the Iranian attacks on their Gulf neighbours.

The Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement that the US strikes on radar installations in Sirik and at Qeshm island were a “flagrant” violation of the ceasefire and “an attack on the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, according to news agencies.