U.S. Says It Shot Down Iranian Missiles and Drones, Then Struck Radar Sites

The U.S. military said it shot down Iranian ballistic missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf Arab allies on Friday and struck some of Iran’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response, the latest exchange of fire to fray the ceasefire that took effect in April.

U.S. Central Command said Iran fired seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain late Friday, six of which were intercepted while the seventh failed to reach its target, NPR and Al Jazeera reported. Earlier in the day U.S. forces had shot down four Iranian attack drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz, which CENTCOM said “posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic.” CENTCOM said there were no reports of harm to U.S. personnel. It said it hit radar sites on Qeshm Island and at Goruk “to defend against further attacks,” Al Jazeera reported.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it targeted the Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait, which hosts U.S. forces, and the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA agency cited by NPR. Al Jazeera reported that the Guard said it was retaliating for earlier U.S. strikes and said the clash began when U.S.-backed oil tankers tried to pass through the strait without coordinating with it. Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the American attacks a “flagrant” violation of the ceasefire and said Washington bears responsibility for the consequences. Kuwait and Bahrain condemned the strikes on their territory as violations of their sovereignty, and Egypt, Jordan and Qatar joined the condemnation Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.

President Trump described the situation as going well. “The situation with Iran seems to be going quite well,” he told reporters Friday at an event with farmers in Wisconsin. “We’re going to come out of Iran very quickly and it’s going to be very strong one way or the other, whether it’s a piece of paper or the very tough way,” he said, adding that fertilizer prices would “go way down.” NPR reported he said in an NBC “Meet the Press” interview that the talks are taking time because “it’s a very hard thing for them,” and that Iran still has 21 to 22 percent of its missiles.

The talks themselves remain stuck. NPR said U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement a week earlier to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and open a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, but Trump has called for unspecified changes and Iranian officials have shown no public sign of signing off. Al Jazeera reported that Iran wants sanctions waivers, access to frozen assets and an end to the U.S. blockade of its ports, while the United States wants the strait reopened and concessions on Iran’s nuclear program.

The pressure is also political at home. The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports answers Tehran’s hold on the strait, which carries much of the world’s oil and natural gas and has sent energy prices higher, NPR reported, creating problems for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Earlier in the week Iranian drones heavily damaged a terminal at Kuwait’s main airport, killing one person.

Fighting in Lebanon is a further complication. NPR said Israel struck multiple parts of southern Lebanon on Friday and the state news agency reported nine people killed, while Hezbollah has rejected a ceasefire deal agreed to by the Lebanese government and Israel. Iran says any agreement with Washington must include an end to the fighting there.