The United States and Iran exchanged a series of military strikes in the early hours of Saturday, rattling Gulf neighbours Kuwait and Bahrain and deepening fears for a fragile ceasefire that has been in place since early April. The exchange, the latest in a string of back-and-forth attacks, began when US Central Command (Centcom) said it shot down four Iranian attack drones heading toward the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula through which a significant share of the world's oil and gas supplies pass. US forces then struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar installations at Goruk and on Qeshm Island, describing the action as self-defence against further attacks. Hours later, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had fired missiles at what it called "enemy bases" in the region, targeting two US air bases in Kuwait — including Ali Al-Salem Air Base — and facilities linked to the US Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
Both Kuwait and Bahrain, small Gulf states that host major US military installations, activated air-raid sirens and their armed forces reported intercepting incoming fire. Centcom said Iran launched seven ballistic missiles in total toward the two countries; six were intercepted and the seventh failed to reach its target. "There are currently no reports of harm to US personnel, and Iranian claims of damaging US 5th fleet headquarters in Bahrain are false," Centcom said. The strikes came just days after a drone attack blamed on Iran struck Kuwait's international airport, killing one person and wounding dozens.
The flare-up threatens to unravel a ceasefire that halted a broader conflict triggered nearly 100 days ago by US and Israeli strikes that killed Iran's top leadership. Weeks of negotiations have so far failed to produce a 60-day extension of the truce or progress on Iran's nuclear programme. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner recently visited the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to consult nuclear experts, a sign, according to one US official, that talks have entered "a very serious phase" — though no deal is guaranteed. Iranian military adviser Mohsen Rezaei, speaking to CNN, said the negotiations were "at a deadlock" and called for the release of roughly $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
President Donald Trump, speaking to NBC News on Friday, acknowledged that Iran retains approximately 21–22 percent of its pre-war missile stockpile, a figure higher than the 18 percent he cited last month, and one that undercuts his administration's repeated assertions that Tehran's military capacity had been crippled. Trump said the situation with Iran was going "quite well" and suggested a resolution would come "one way or the other" — either through a diplomatic agreement or by force. He is under growing domestic pressure to end the conflict ahead of US midterm elections, as the war has unsettled global energy markets.
The conflict is further complicated by fighting in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have struck targets in the south and a newly brokered ceasefire has been rejected by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group. Iran has insisted that any lasting settlement must encompass Lebanon, while Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam publicly appealed to Tehran to stop "treating" his country's south as "a bargaining chip." The situation leaves diplomats navigating multiple interlocking fronts, with the Strait of Hormuz — still effectively blockaded — keeping energy prices elevated and international pressure for a resolution high.