New exchange of fire between U.S. and Iran in Gulf tests fragile ceasefire

Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait early Saturday, Bahrain’s government said, adding that they were intercepted. It called on Tehran to immediately cease attacks on Gulf neighbours that it deemed a “serious escalation.”

Bahrain activated air raid sirens and told residents to move to the nearest safe location and follow official instructions.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the U.S. early Saturday attacked surveillance facilities on Qeshm Island and near Sirik that it said were used to protect borders and “ensure the security of navigation in international waters.”

Tehran called the attack a violation of the fragile ceasefire.

The latest exchange of fire came as the Trump administration pressed Iran to make a deal to end the war that has strained the global economy and threatened a hunger crisis in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.

Iran said it targeted the U.S. military

The U.S. military earlier said it shot down several Iranian missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf Arab allies, and struck some of the Islamic republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” U.S. Central Command said on social media. It confirmed it hit radar sites, including an island in the strait, “to defend against further attacks.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it targeted the Ali Al Salem air base, which hosts U.S. forces in Kuwait, and the U.S. navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. The U.S. military said there were no reports of harm to U.S. personnel.

The U.S. military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s chokehold on the crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments, which has sent energy prices spiking.

It has also posed political problems for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of the midterm congressional elections in November.

U.S. Central Command said it hit the radar sites, including an island in the strait, “to defend against further attacks.”

Trump promises quick end to conflict

It was the latest in back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous ceasefire in the war — which began when the U.S. and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28 — and harmed efforts to reach a deal to extend that truce. Earlier this week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport, killing one person, wounding dozens and briefly closing the airfield.

Despite the attacks raising new concerns that the ceasefire could collapse, Trump told reporters on Friday that “the situation with Iran seems to be going quite well.”

Trump increasingly appears to be boxed in on a conflict that has settled into a holding pattern. U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement a week ago to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program. But Trump has called for unspecified changes, and Iranian officials have shown no public signs of signing off on the deal.

Asked on Friday why it was taking so long, Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press that it was because “it’s a very hard thing for them.”

“There are things they never thought they’d be doing that they’re going to have to do. They’ve got no choice, and it takes a little while,” he said in the interview.

Trump said the Iranians still have 21 to 22 per cent of their missiles.