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Missiles and drones exchanged
The United States said it downed multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones launched towards the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf, as CENTCOM reported seven ballistic missiles fired towards Kuwait and Bahrain late on Friday night.
CENTCOM said six of the missiles were intercepted and the seventh did not reach its target, while Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced the US strikes as a “flagrant” violation of the ceasefire in place since April.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it carried out attacks targeting US bases in the region in retaliation for earlier US strikes, and Al Jazeera’s Almigdad Alruhaid said the IRGC’s latest attacks were a “warning” to the US.
The BBC described the exchange as a test of the shaky ceasefire, saying American forces targeted Iranian drones and radar sites and Iran fired missiles at US bases in the Gulf.
Kuwait and Bahrain condemned the Iranian missile and drone strikes, calling them a violation of sovereignty and a threat to regional security, while Egypt, Jordan and Qatar also issued condemnations on Saturday.
Condemnations and competing claims
Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced the US strikes on radar installations in Sirik and at Qeshm island as a “flagrant” violation of the ceasefire, and said the attacks showed the US “not only lacks the will to reduce tensions”.
The BBC reported that Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at two US air bases in Kuwait, and US Navy facilities in Bahrain, and that Bahrain and Kuwait condemned the attacks after the drone and missile fire was repelled.
Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi said the tit-for-tat attacks have become a “mainstay” for the Iran war, adding that each attack hardens political and military positions and makes a negotiated solution “that much more fragile.”
The Guardian reported that air raid sirens rang out in Bahrain and people were told to move to a safe location, while Kuwait’s military said it was intercepting drones and missiles launched at the country.
The Guardian also quoted CENTCOM saying “There are currently no reports of harm to US personnel,” and said Iranian claims of damaging US 5th fleet headquarters in Bahrain were false.
Ceasefire talks under strain
The BBC said the attacks occurred as ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran stalled, with a deal to end the war failing to advance, and US media reporting President Donald Trump had requested changes to the terms of an agreement.
“The United States says it downed multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones that were launched towards the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf, further testing a fragile truce between the US and Iran as negotiations drag out”
In the same BBC account, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said the US was “constantly changing its views and putting forward new or contradictory demands”.
The Guardian reported that US and Iranian negotiators had been working to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme, but said both sides continued to call for changes and neither appeared ready to compromise.
The Guardian also said the World Food Programme (WFP) reported millions of people were being pushed into hunger due to knock-on effects of the Iran war, primarily due to soaring energy and food prices.
The BBC noted the ceasefire has been in place since April and that the exchanges of fire threatened it, while the Guardian linked the broader instability to the US enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s chokehold on the strait.
