Attacks reported in Kuwait – home to a US military base – and around the strait of Hormuz in latest exchange of fire as peace negotiations continue
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The US said it struck Iranian military sites at the weekend and Iran said on Monday it had targeted a US base in response, the latest exchange of attacks amid negotiations to end the three-month-old war.
The US and Iran have sporadically exchanged strikes since their planned ceasefire took effect in early April, as diplomacy aimed at a more durable agreement drags on. A similar exchange occurred last Thursday and was described in near-identical terms by both sides.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it had targeted an airbase used by the US for an attack on southern Iran, without identifying which base. It is assumed to be in Kuwait, which said it had intercepted missile and drone attacks on Monday morning. In a statement, the Kuwaiti foreign ministry said it reserved the right to take “all necessary measures” to defend its territory and security.
The US strikes on Iran’s Gulf coast were in response to “aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters”, the US military’s central command (Centcom) said on X.
“US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defences, a ground control station and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” Centcom said, adding that it would continue to protect US assets and interests during the ceasefire.
Tehran defended its recent strikes on US-linked military facilities, arguing that countries hosting bases used in attacks against Iran could not evade responsibility.
After weeks of faltering diplomacy, Washington and Tehran were reportedly close late last week to a deal that would halt the fighting and reopen the strait of Hormuz. Draft proposals brokered by Qatari and Pakistani mediators would extend the ceasefire for 60 days while negotiations continued over Iran’s nuclear programme. Yet hopes of a breakthrough were repeatedly dashed as both sides balked at key concessions, exposing the deep mistrust that has plagued the talks from the outset.
Iran blamed stalled ceasefire talks on deep mistrust of Washington, accusing the US of shifting its demands while continuing to back Israeli military operations across the region. Its foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said negotiations were taking place in an atmosphere of suspicion, making progress difficult.
Baghaei said on Monday that there were currently no exchanges with the US over the details of Tehran’s nuclear programme. “We know when it is necessary to act on nuclear matters. No negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear file. At this stage, our priority is ending the war,” he said in a weekly press briefing.
The latest exchange underscored the fragility of the ceasefire, which has been repeatedly tested by cross-border attacks even as diplomats seek a broader settlement. Iran has maintained restrictions around the strait of Hormuz throughout the conflict, while analysts say its missile campaign has inflicted significant damage on US military infrastructure across the Middle East.
The war launched by the US and Israel on 28 February has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices due to Iran’s effective closure of the strait of Hormuz.
The US president, Donald Trump, has said one key aim in the war is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon with its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has consistently denied it has plans to do that.
Trump appears increasingly isolated as his military venture into Iran edges towards an outcome that many analysts view as a strategic setback.
The US president is under pressure to reopen the strait of Hormuz and get US fuel costs down before the November congressional elections, as voters show increasing frustration over rising prices. At the same time, he faces a potential backlash from Iran hawks in his own party over any concessions to Tehran.
The two sides remain at odds on several other issues, such as Tehran’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.
Israel’s war in Lebanon with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia is another major impediment. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Monday that he had instructed the Israeli military to bomb the southern suburbs of Beirut, the most serious escalation of Israel’s war in Lebanon since the supposed ceasefire was announced on 17 April.
Reuters contributed to this report
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