US military accuses Iran of ceasefire violation after missile attack on Kuwait

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military on Thursday accused Iran of violating a fragile ceasefire after Kuwait reported being attacked following a U.S. strike on the Islamic Republic. It is the latest surge in fighting that threatens ongoing negotiations aimed at ending the war.

U.S. Central Command said Kuwait intercepted missiles fired from Iran on Wednesday evening, and military officials called the attack on one of the United States’ main allies in the Persian Gulf a “blatant violation of the ceasefire.”

Kuwait earlier announced an attack on its territory and Iran said it responded to strikes earlier this week by firing on a U.S. base in an unnamed Gulf state. Kuwait’s foreign ministry condemned Iran for what it called “blatant aggression.”

The exchange came after U.S. officials said Wednesday evening in Washington that American forces had launched new strikes against Iran, shooting down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and striking an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

Washington and Tehran have repeatedly accused each other of violating the seven-week ceasefire and traded strikes throughout the week. But they did not resume large-scale hostilities and continued to negotiate. US President Donald Trump insisted he was confident his administration was making progress in negotiations.

WATCH: At Cabinet meeting, Trump says Iran is ‘trading on smoke’ and midterm elections won’t affect its war strategy

On Monday, the United States said it had carried out what the Pentagon called “self-defense” strikes against missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in southern Iran.

After the latest US strikes, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards acknowledged the attack around Bandar Abbas International Airport. Iranian forces said via the official IRNA news agency that they had launched a retaliatory attack on the air base that launched the assaults, without specifying whether the retaliation was aimed at Kuwait, which is home to the US military’s forward headquarters, air bases and a naval base.

The Kuwaiti military announced Thursday that its air defense systems had intercepted missiles and drones, without specifying what had been targeted. Kuwait repeatedly came under fire from Iran and Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq before the April ceasefire began.

The announcement comes as the Middle East is on edge and talks to end the war remain evolving.

Trump is seeking a deal that would reopen the strait, through which about a fifth of all oil and natural gas trade once passed. He also seeks to convince Iran to give up its stocks of highly enriched uranium. The war was unpopular in the United States, and Iran’s closure of the strait caused oil prices to skyrocket, driving up fuel prices around the world.

READ MORE: Trump tells PBS News Iran won’t get sanctions relief in exchange for giving up highly enriched uranium

The Islamic Republic wants economic sanctions lifted and frozen assets released to help its crumbling economy. Iran also insists that any agreement must include an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.

A U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect in Lebanon in mid-April, and Lebanese and Israeli military officials are expected to hold their first security talks Friday in Washington. But the ceasefire has been tested, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday that his country was escalating its attacks after Hezbollah fired explosive fiber-optic drones that struck Israeli troops in Lebanon and reached some of Israel’s northern border towns.

Tensions escalated Thursday as Israel carried out an airstrike on a southern suburb of the capital, Beirut, and other strikes in the southern coastal city of Tyre. At least 14 people were killed in the south of the country.

Toropin contributed from Washington and Metz from Ramallah in the West Bank.

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