admin Iran launched a salvo of missiles at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait on Saturday after fresh American strikes, drawing a furious response from the Gulf monarchies and further straining a fragile truce.
Weeks of indirect talks marked by tit-for-tat threats and sporadic exchanges of fire have failed to secure a deal to end the Middle East war or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for Gulf oil and gas shipments.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said late Friday its forces shot down four Iranian attack drones launched toward the strait, then struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Saturday they had responded by targeting “enemy bases in the area” with missiles.
People gather next to damaged vehicles on the street following reported Iranian drone strikes in Sitra, Bahrain. File/Reuters
CENTCOM said Iran launched seven ballistic missiles towards Bahrain and Kuwait, with six intercepted and one falling short.
Bahrain, which hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, denounced the latest attacks as “blatant aggression”, while Kuwait said they “represent a dangerous escalation”.
In Bahrain’s capital Manama, an AFP journalist heard three explosions as air raid sirens sounded.
In Kuwait, another AFP journalist heard repeated blasts near the international airport, where a Wednesday strike blamed on Iran killed one person.
“We woke up to a huge explosion,” said Reem, a mother of two. “My children were terrified, and I couldn’t calm them down.”
‘Flagrant violations’
A ceasefire in the war — which was triggered almost 100 days ago by US and Israeli strikes — has held since April 8, despite occasional flare-ups.
Iran’s foreign ministry denounced the latest US strikes as “flagrant” violations, while condemning Washington’s “hostile and provocative behaviour”.
Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al Abdullah Al Sabah (centre) inspects the damaged airport after Iranian attacks in Kuwait City.
Agence France-Presse
Efforts to turn the truce into a lasting settlement have repeatedly stalled, while the conflict has rattled global markets and increased pressure on US President Donald Trump at home ahead of midterm elections.
“The negotiations are at a deadlock and Trump must break this deadlock,” Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, told CNN, as he called for the release of some $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
Washington instead may seek to use the funds to pay for damage wrought by Iranian strikes on Gulf allies.
The US “Treasury will utilize all tools available to allow Iranian assets to be made available to our Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs for any future damage caused by Iran,” a source familiar with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s thinking said.
Lebanon — drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed group Hizbollah attacked Israel on March 2 — called on Friday for Iran to stop interfering in its affairs.
Beirut’s army chief Rodolphe Haykal left on Saturday for Pakistan, where he will meet his counterpart Asim Munir, who has become a central figure in Iran-US mediation efforts.
Iran, in its peace negotiations with Washington, has insisted the fighting in Lebanon and the war in the Gulf are inextricably linked.
On Saturday, Lebanon said an Israeli strike in the country’s south killed three of its soldiers. Israel’s military said it was “reviewing the incident” and insisted its campaign in
Lebanon was targeting Hizbollah, not government forces.
The health ministry said two women were killed and 22 people wounded in an Israeli strike on Saksakiyeh in the south.
Meanwhile the Israeli military on Saturday announced the death of two of its soldiers.
A ceasefire announced in April did not stop the fighting in Lebanon, and a new conditional truce deal announced this week was flatly rejected by Hizbollah.
Agence France-Presse
