Iran targets US base in region after US hits Iranian air defenses | US-Israeli war against Iran

The United States said it struck Iranian military sites over the weekend and Iran said Monday it targeted a U.S. base in response, the latest exchange of attacks in negotiations to end the three-month-old war.

The United States and Iran have exchanged strikes sporadically since their planned ceasefire took effect in early April, as diplomacy aimed at a more lasting deal drags on. A similar exchange took place last Thursday and was described in almost identical terms by both sides.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Monday it had targeted an air base used by the United States for an attack on southern Iran, without identifying which base. He is likely to be in Kuwait, which said it intercepted missile and drone attacks Monday morning. In a statement, the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said it reserved the right to take “all necessary measures” to defend its territory and security.

Civil defense officers at the site of an Israeli strike in the southern Lebanese city of Tire on Sunday. Photograph: Kawant Haju/AFP/Getty Images

The US strikes on Iran’s Gulf coast were a response to “aggressive Iranian actions, including the shooting down of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters”, the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said on X.

“US warplanes quickly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station and two unidirectional attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” Centcom said, adding that it would continue to protect US assets and interests during the ceasefire.

Tehran has defended its recent strikes on military installations linked to the United States, arguing that countries hosting bases used in attacks on Iran cannot escape responsibility.

After weeks of shaky diplomacy, Washington and Tehran last week were reportedly close to a deal that would end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Draft proposals negotiated by Qatari and Pakistani mediators would extend the ceasefire by 60 days while negotiations continue on Iran’s nuclear program. Yet hopes for a breakthrough were repeatedly dashed when both sides balked at making key concessions, revealing the deep distrust that has plagued the negotiations from the start.

U.S. sailors prepare to taxi an F/A-18F Super Hornet onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in late May. Photograph: US Navy/Navcent Public Affairs/AFP/Getty Images

Iran has blamed the impasse in ceasefire negotiations on a deep distrust of Washington, accusing the United States of changing its demands while continuing to support Israeli military operations in the region. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the negotiations were taking place in an atmosphere of suspicion, making progress difficult.

Baghaei said on Monday that there was currently no exchange with the United States on the details of Tehran’s nuclear program. “We know when it is necessary to act on nuclear issues. No negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear file. At this stage, our priority is to end the war,” he said during a weekly press briefing.

The latest exchange underscored the fragility of the ceasefire, which has been repeatedly tested by cross-border attacks even as diplomats seek a broader settlement. Iran has maintained restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz throughout the conflict, while analysts say its missile campaign has inflicted significant damage on US military infrastructure in the Middle East.

The war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic hardship by driving up energy prices due to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Smoke rises Monday from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese village of Arnoun. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has said that one of the main goals of this war is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon using its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has always denied having any intention of doing so.

Trump appears increasingly isolated as his military adventure in Iran moves toward an outcome that many analysts view as a strategic setback.

The US president is under pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and cut US fuel prices ahead of November’s congressional elections, as voters show growing frustration over rising prices. At the same time, he faces a potential backlash from Iran hawks in his own party over any concessions to Tehran.

The two sides remain at odds over several other issues, such as Tehran’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.

Another major obstacle is Israel’s war in Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he had ordered the Israeli army to bomb the southern suburbs of Beirut, the most serious escalation of Israel’s war in Lebanon since the announcement of the so-called ceasefire on April 17.

Reuters contributed to this report

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