The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran was tested sharply over the weekend, as American forces struck Iranian coastal radar installations and downed attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at US-linked bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. It was the second such exchange in the space of days, deepening concerns that the April ceasefire agreement — brokered by Pakistan — could collapse entirely.
US Central Command (Centcom) said American forces intercepted four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed an immediate threat to maritime traffic near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which around one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes. US forces then struck Iranian radar sites at Sirik and on Qeshm island, off Iran's southern coast, to prevent further drone launches. Iran's Revolutionary Guards subsequently fired seven ballistic missiles at two US air bases in Kuwait and US Navy facilities in Bahrain, a small Gulf island state that hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet. Six missiles were intercepted; the seventh failed to reach its target. Debris from interceptions caused material damage in residential areas of Kuwait, though no casualties were reported.
Bahrain condemned the attacks as "blatant aggression" and a flagrant violation of its sovereignty. Kuwait, which had already suffered a deadly drone strike on its international airport days earlier, called the renewed barrage a "dangerous escalation." Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and the UAE also condemned the Iranian strikes. Iran's foreign ministry, in turn, described the US radar strikes as a "flagrant" violation of the ceasefire and an attack on Iranian sovereignty, accusing Washington of "complete disregard for the principles of international law."
The exchanges occurred against a backdrop of stalled diplomacy. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsen Naqvi travelled to Tehran carrying a message from Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in an effort to revive the deadlocked peace process. Pakistan has played the role of mediator throughout the conflict. However, Iran's supreme leader's military adviser described the indirect talks as having reached a "dead end," insisting that the release of approximately $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets held abroad was a prerequisite for any agreement. Iran's foreign ministry accused the US of "constantly changing its views and putting forward new or contradictory demands." President Donald Trump said Iran had "no choice" but to reach a deal, while also claiming the country had used roughly 78 percent of its missile stockpile since the war began in late February.
The broader conflict, now in its 100th day, has inflicted severe costs well beyond the immediate region. Oil prices have nearly doubled since fighting began, with Brent crude settling around $100 per barrel after peaking close to $120. The International Energy Agency has described the disruption as the largest energy shock on record. Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen from roughly 100 transits per day before the war to around seven, stranding hundreds of vessels and driving up freight costs worldwide. At least 146 countries have reported higher petrol prices, with the sharpest increases in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The United States separately announced approval of a nearly $2 billion sale of counter-drone systems to Kuwait, underlining how Gulf states are rapidly rearming as the ceasefire remains, in the words of multiple governments, deeply fragile.