The United States has conducted new strikes inside Iran, targeting a military facility and downing Iranian attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz, according to US officials. The strikes prompted an apparent Iranian retaliatory attack on an American airbase in Kuwait.
US Central Command forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the strait, officials said. A ground control station in Iran's Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone was hit. “These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” an official told Reuters.
Two hours later, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported the Revolutionary Guards had targeted an American base in Kuwait in retaliation. Kuwait's army confirmed its air defences were intercepting hostile missile and drone threats. The tit-for-tat strikes came as Iranian forces also fired at four ships attempting to cross the strait, IRIB reported.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump accused Iran of stalling peace talks, threatening to “finish the job” if Tehran did not agree to a deal. He also directed a warning at Oman, saying the strait would be “open to everybody” and “Oman will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow them up.”
In Lebanon, Israel launched broad strikes and declared a new combat zone in the south. The Israeli military said it had struck 550 targets since the beginning of the week, a significant increase. Hezbollah described close-quarters combat with Israeli forces in a strategic town. More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced.
