U.S. forces struck Iranian coastal radar sites on Saturday after shooting down drones launched by Iran toward the Strait of Hormuz, in the latest escalation in the Gulf as Washington and Tehran struggle to reach a deal to end their three-month-old war.
U.S. Central Command said American forces targeted surveillance sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island, both located along the strategic waterway. A U.S. official told Reuters the military believed four Iranian drones had been aimed at regional maritime traffic.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes, saying they violated an April 8 ceasefire and showed Washington had no intention of reducing tensions. Tehran warned that the United States would be responsible for the consequences of what it called “illegal actions.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had retaliated by attacking U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. They also said Iranian forces fired at four tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz without permission.
Kuwait’s army said it intercepted seven ballistic missiles that passed over residential areas, causing material damage but no casualties. In Bahrain, sirens sounded as residents were urged to take shelter.
Kuwait and Bahrain both condemned the attacks. Iran later said it had struck U.S. bases in the two Gulf states with ballistic missiles, while the U.S. military said six missiles were intercepted and a seventh failed to reach its target.
The escalation comes as the United States and Iran continue mostly indirect negotiations over an interim agreement to halt the war, leaving disputes over Tehran’s nuclear program for later talks. But repeated flare-ups have complicated efforts to reach a deal.
Tehran is seeking access to billions of dollars in oil revenue, sanctions waivers on crude exports, the lifting of a U.S. blockade on its ports and leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively blocked the waterway, through which around a fifth of global oil traffic passed before the war.
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Saturday for talks with Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, according to Iranian state media. Pakistan has been mediating efforts to end the conflict.
A Pakistani source said Naqvi was carrying a message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
U.S. President Donald Trump is facing growing domestic pressure to end the war as rising fuel prices weigh on Americans. He told NBC that while most of Iran’s drone and missile production facilities had been destroyed, Tehran still retained a portion of its missile arsenal.
“They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say percentage wise, maybe 21%-22% of their missiles,” Trump told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” according to excerpts released Friday.
Trump said Iran’s leaders had not yet agreed to a deal because they were “strong” and “proud,” adding that reaching a settlement would take time.
The war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran. Tehran responded by targeting Gulf states hosting U.S. bases and largely stopping shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflict has pushed oil prices higher and disrupted supply chains, including deliveries of humanitarian aid.
Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, told CNN on Friday that any peace deal depended on the Trump administration unfreezing $24 billion in Iranian assets. He warned that the United States would “enter into a dark corridor” if it resumed attacks.
Fighting has also continued in Lebanon, where two Lebanese army officers and a soldier were killed in an Israeli strike on a military vehicle in the south, according to the Lebanese army. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident.
Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington.
Lebanon’s army said its commander, General Rudolf Haykal, left for Pakistan on Saturday at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart. The visit is notable because Washington and Lebanese officials have insisted that Lebanon ceasefire talks remain separate from U.S.-Iran negotiations mediated by Pakistan.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem this week rejected a U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government to halt fighting in Lebanon, saying Hezbollah had not been part of the negotiations and that the deal did not include an Israeli withdrawal.
Israel has said it will not withdraw its forces or halt operations in Lebanon, despite increasing friction with Washington.