Iran Fires Seven Ballistic Missiles at Kuwait, Kuwait Intercepts Over Kuwaiti Airspace

Iran fired seven ballistic missiles at Kuwait overnight, and Kuwait’s military said it intercepted the missiles at dawn over Kuwaiti airspace with some debris falling on residential areas but no casualties.

“Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni met with his Pakistani counterpart Mohsen Naqvi in Tehran on Saturday after arriving in the Iranian capital on a visit that comes as part of efforts to revive the stalled track of negotiations”

Al-Jazeera Net

The June 6 attack came days after an Iranian strike on Kuwait’s international airport killed one person and injured 63 others, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Al-Jazeera Net

In the same reporting, the U.S. Central Command confirmed the launch of seven Iranian missiles at Kuwait, saying six were intercepted while the seventh “did not reach its intended target.”

The New York Times reported that senior Pakistani mediators, including army chief Syed Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to shore up a cease-fire between Iran and the United States before it expires next week.

Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni met in Tehran with Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday as part of efforts to revive stalled negotiations, with IRNA quoting Naqvi delivering a message from Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Access to frozen assets has emerged as one of Tehran’s key demands in negotiations with Washington, with Iranian officials seeking the release of at least part of the tens of billions of dollars held abroad, according to ایـران اینترنشنال.

The outlet said negotiators were discussing a package worth roughly $12 billion that could become available if a preliminary agreement with the United States is reached, while Iranian officials estimate that more than $100 billion in assets remain inaccessible.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

In a separate report, Mohsen Rezaei, the military adviser to the Iranian Supreme Leader, told CNN that indirect talks between Washington and Tehran have reached a dead end, stressing that any possible agreement hinges on the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad worth $24 billion.

جريدة الغد reported Rezaei describing the $24 billion step as a “trust test” that U.S. President Donald Trump must pass, adding that these funds are Iran's right and not the United States’ property.

The New York Times also tied the diplomacy to pressure and threats, saying Iran threatened to halt all trade in the region in response to an American naval blockade of its ports.

The New York Times reported that the diplomacy came as the White House dismissed reports that President Trump wanted to extend the cease-fire while still expressing optimism that talks could yield an agreement, with Karoline Leavitt saying, “We feel good about the prospects of a deal.”

“Those new to the culture of Iran and Persian vernacular, and those intending to successfully conduct diplomatic negotiations in Iran, must familiarise themselves with the term ta’arof, a style of interaction in which indirectness, politeness, and awareness of hierarchy are used to preserve respect and social etiquette”

The Friday Times

In the same account, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran had continued to exchange messages with the United States through Pakistan since initial talks ended without an agreement on Sunday.

The New York Times added that the U.S. military said it had halted goods going into and leaving Iran by sea over the last two days, and it quoted Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi saying, “Iran’s powerful armed forces will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea.”

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty described how the June 6 missile attack on Kuwait came as a sign that a cease-fire announced two months ago by the United States remained fragile, with Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry condemning the strikes as “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the state.”

In جريدة الغد, the fragile ceasefire reached with Pakistani mediation on April 8 was described as vulnerable to collapse due to ongoing violations, following a war that began on February 28 and led Iran to impose restrictions on navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.