US and Iran exchange strikes as talks over Hormuz remain stalled
Renewed drone and missile attacks by Iran on Bahrain and Kuwait followed US strikes on Iranian targets, raising concerns about the durability of the interim cease-fire and the future of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran launched drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday after the United States carried out air strikes on sites in southern Iran. Kuwait said it intercepted two ballistic missiles with no injuries reported, while Bahrain’s interior ministry said a residential building near the international airport was damaged but no fatalities occurred.
The United States Central Command said its strikes targeted Iranian military surveillance, communications, air-defence, drone-storage and mine-laying facilities and were a direct response to what it described as continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.
The escalation comes as both sides negotiate an interim peace agreement that includes a 60-day window to resolve issues such as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief and Iran’s nuclear programme. Washington is promoting a southern shipping lane along Oman’s coast, whereas Tehran insists on a northern route under its control and seeks to charge fees for its use.
"If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!" President Donald Trump wrote on social media.
"Any interference in this matter, any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements ... will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the strait of Hormuz, and increase the level of tension," Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in Baghdad.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the attacks, warning that violations of the cease-fire would halt ongoing negotiations. Bahrain’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes as a deliberate pattern of aggression against its sovereignty.
Separate incidents were reported in Lebanon, where Israeli forces said a soldier was killed in an encounter with a Hezbollah combatant, and the Lebanese state news agency reported an Israeli attack on the outskirts of Deir Seryan and Taybeh. These developments add further pressure on the broader regional security environment that underpins the US-Iran talks.