Iran launched missiles at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait after fresh American strikes overnight, 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.
US Central Command (Centcom) said that its forces shot down four Iranian attack drones launched toward the strait, then struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later said it had responded by targeting “enemy bases in the area” with missiles.
Centcom said Iran had launched seven ballistic missiles towards Bahrain and Kuwait, but that six had been intercepted and one had fallen short.
Bahrain, which hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, denounced the latest attacks, the second against both nations in a matter of days, as “blatant aggression”, while Kuwait said they “represent a dangerous escalation”.
In Bahrain’s capital Manama, at least three explosions were heard as air raid sirens sounded.
In Kuwait, repeated blasts were heard near the country’s international airport, which was struck on Wednesday in an attack blamed on Iran that killed one person.
A ceasefire in the war - which was triggered almost 100 days ago by US and Israeli strikes - has been in place since April 8, despite the occasional flare-ups.
Iran’s foreign ministry denounced the latest US strikes as “flagrant” violations, while condemning Washington’s “hostile and provocative behaviour”.
Efforts to turn the truce into a lasting settlement have stalled, while the conflict has rattled global markets and increased pressure on US President Donald Trump at home ahead of midterm elections.
Lebanon - which was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 - called for Iran to stop interfering in its affairs.
Israel’s military said that it had struck around 150 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past 48 hours.
A statement said: “Over the weekend, the IDF struck weapons storage facilities, command centres, rocket launchers, and additional Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites [used] to advance and execute terror attacks against IDF soldiers.”
Beirut’s military confirmed that an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed three soldiers.
- AFP
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