The United States bombs Iran; Tehran targets Kuwait

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States said Monday it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran after Tehran shot down a U.S. drone over the weekend. Iran later said it targeted U.S. troops in Kuwait with missiles, which the U.S. says it shot down.

The theoretical ceasefire between Iran and the United States has been repeatedly tested by such attacks, even as officials from both countries try to negotiate an end to the war. It’s unclear how close they are to a deal – and there is always the risk that an attack could derail these negotiations.

Meanwhile, Iran maintains its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy supplies and driving up fuel prices around the world, with far-reaching consequences. A cargo ship was attacked off the coast of Iraq on Monday afternoon, the British military said.

Fighting has also intensified between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, despite their theoretical ceasefire. Israel has extended its occupation into Lebanon, and Hezbollah – which joined the war to support its main backer, Iran – continues to launch drones into Israel.

US military attacks Iran

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it carried out strikes in Iran on Saturday and Sunday around the town of Geruk and on the island of Qeshm, hitting air defenses, a ground control station and two attack drones that it said threatened shipping in the area.

“The measured and deliberate strikes took place… in response to aggressive Iranian actions, including the shooting down of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters,” the central command said.

Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is slow compared to before the war, with shipowners deterred by the risk of an Iranian attack. Only 36 ships transited the waterway in the seven days to Friday, a third of them carrying crude oil or petroleum products, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. This compares to an average of more than 130 ships per day before the start of the war.

Kuwait reports imminent shooting

Kuwait said its air defenses opened fire early Monday morning to intercept drone and missile strikes.

Around the same time, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards said they responded to a U.S. attack without specifying where, likely referring to the attack on Kuwait. In a statement released by the official IRNA news agency, the Guard said U.S. forces had targeted a telecommunications tower.

Kuwait is home to U.S. Army Central, the Army’s forward command in the Middle East.

Iranian state television shared footage of the ballistic missile launch, including a close-up showing a body sticker depicting the battered US President Donald Trump, superimposed on a “closed” Strait of Hormuz with the caption: “Until the last US soldier leaves the region.”

Central Command said U.S. forces shot down two ballistic missiles launched by Iran toward bases housing U.S. troops. No Americans were injured, the statement added.

Attacks undermine ceasefire negotiations

These attacks represent the latest escalation between the United States and Iran. Over the weekend, the United States fired a missile into the engine room of a Gambian-flagged cargo ship in an attempt to break the blockade of Iranian ports.

On Monday, a cargo ship off the coast of Umm Qasr, Iraq, was hit by a projectile which caused a “large explosion”, the British army said. He provided no further details and no one claimed responsibility for the attack, although Iran has previously attacked ships off the coast of Iraq.

A small number of ships have managed to exit the strait, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas trade once passed, but pressure continues on global energy supplies, as well as chemical fertilizers. This has led to fears of food shortages. The Gulf region produces 30% of the chemical fertilizers sold globally.

Trump met with his advisers on Friday but has not yet decided whether to move forward with a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait. Iran said the deal was not finalized.

The United States and Israel launched the war by striking Iran on February 28. Trump has proposed changing the goals of the conflict, even if that includes preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is peaceful, even though it has enough highly enriched uranium to build multiple nuclear weapons, if it chooses to do so.

US Vice President JD Vance suggested last week that negotiators were trying to reach general terms on Iran’s nuclear program, with details to be worked out in subsequent negotiations.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei again accused the United States on Monday of “constantly” changing its position.

“From the beginning, we knew – and we continue to know – that we were negotiating in an atmosphere of distrust,” Baghaei told reporters.

Trump expressed optimism about the talks in a post on his Truth Social platform early Monday in Washington.

“Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good deal for the United States and those who are with us,” he wrote. “Just sit back and relax, everything will work out in the end – it always does!”

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