U.S. forces shot down Iranian missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and neighboring countries, the latest conflict in the region that could further complicate efforts to end the war between the United States and Iran.
The U.S. military said in a Friday evening statement that “Iran fired seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain hours after U.S. Central Command (Centcom) shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz.”
The strikes mark the latest flare-up in the strait amid extended negotiations to halt the conflict. The Strait of Hormuz has remained effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, halting shipments of energy products and sending gas, grocery and transportation prices soaring in the U.S. and around the world.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that the three-month-long war is coming to an end, saying at an event on Friday that it’s “largely finished” but that it could conclude in “a more difficult way” than with negotiations.
However, indirect negotiations have largely stalled out. When asked on Friday why Iran had not struck a deal, Trump told NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” “Because they are strong. They’re proud.”
“They’ve dealt with very weak and ineffective leadership on behalf of the United States, and other countries … that allowed them to get away with murder,” he said. “I think they can’t believe they’re in the situation where they’ve been virtually decapitated.”
Centcom called the drones an “immediate threat to regional maritime traffic.” U.S. forces also struck coastal radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island. Six of the missiles, Centcom said, “launched by Iran were intercepted and a seventh did not reach its intended target.”
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the U.S. actions violations of the April 8 ceasefire, according to Iran state media. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said Iranian forces aimed to strike four oil tankers for attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC also said it targeted two U.S. air bases in Kuwait and the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet facilities in Bahrain.
Centcom, in its statement, said that there have been no reports of harm to U.S. personnel and that “Iranian claims of damaging U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain are false.”
Bahrain and Kuwait condemned Iran’s attacks, with Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying the attacks constitute an escalation.
Kuwait’s army said it engaged seven ballistic missiles within Kuwaiti airspace that were intercepted. Some debris fell over residential areas as a result of the missile interceptions. The missiles, the Kuwait army said, caused material damage and no casualties. Bahrain’s defense forces said they intercepted and destroyed three missiles and several drones.
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