New attacks in the Middle East on Friday threatened to unravel an already fragile US-Iran ceasefire.
Weeks of complex talks marked by threats. flare-ups of violence have failed to secure a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows.
Aceasefirein the Middle East war, triggered nearly 100 days ago by US. Israeli strikes that wiped out Iran’s top leadership, has been in place since April 8.
But tensions surged again on Friday when the US military said it struck radar sites in Iran after downing drones headed toward the strait.
Shortly after, air raid sirens sounded in neighboring Gulf nations Kuwait. Bahrain — both US allies — andAFPcorrespondents in both countries heard explosions.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said early on Saturday they had targeted “enemy bases in the area” with missiles in response to a US “invasion” of the country’s Sirik. Qeshm islands.
US Central Command (Centcom) said Iran launched seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain.
Centcom said six of the missiles were downed while the seventh “did not reach its intended target”.
“There are currently no reports of harm to US personnel,. Iranian claims of damaging US 5th fleet headquarters in Bahrain are false,” the command said in a statement.
The latest flare-up came despite the United States moving ahead with allowing Iran’s national football team to travel to the FIFA World Cup it is co-hosting with Canada. Mexico.
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack confirmed the visa issuances, saying that “sports transcends borders,. we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world”.
However, Iran’sFarsnews agency reported that visas had yet to be issued for some members of the team’s “technical. executive staff”.
An unnamed US administration official said in a statement: “We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.”
The team is due to fly from Turkey to Spain on Saturday before traveling on to their base camp in Mexico. where they will arrive on Sunday.
Earlier Friday, Centcom said its forces also downed four Iranian drones headed toward the Strait of Hormuz before striking Iranian coastal radar installations in Goruk. on Qeshm Island.
“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” while the strikes on radar installations “defend against further attacks,” it said in a statement.
Iranian state televisionIRIBreported early on Saturday. local time, that “several explosions were heard” in Sirik in southern Iran at around 2:30am (2300 GMT Friday).
“Following the invasion of the child-killing. terrorist US army into Sirik and Qeshm Island, enemy bases in the region were hit by aerial missiles,”IRIBreported, quoting the Guards after the US strikes on Iran.
Kuwait’s military said early on Saturday it was responding to “hostile” missile. drone attacks, days after astrikeon the country’s international airport killed one and wounded dozens.
“Kuwaiti air defenses are currently responding to hostile missile. drone attacks,” the military said on X, without specifying their origin.
US President Donald Trump toldNBC Newson Friday that Iran still retained roughly “21. 22 per cent” of its missile stockpile despite repeated claims from US officials that Tehran’s military capacity had been crippled.
That figure was higher than the 18pc Trump gave in May.
Efforts to turn the truce into a lasting settlement have repeatedly stalled, while the conflict has rattled global markets. increased political pressure on Trump at home ahead of midterm elections.
“The negotiations are at a deadlock. Trump must break this deadlock,” Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, toldCNNin an interview on Friday, as he called for the release of frozen Iranian assets to the tune of “$24 billion”.
Lebanon —. was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 — called on Friday for Iran to stop interfering in its affairs.
Israel and Hezbollah traded attacks after a new truce deal was flatly rejected by the group.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam addressed Iran’s leaders in frank terms during a press conference, saying: “Have mercy on our south, stop treating it. its people as merely a bargaining chip.”
“We are the people of a sovereign nation that refuses to serve as … an open battlefield for their wars.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took aim at similar criticism from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun early on Saturday. calling on him to save Lebanon from its “real foe”.
Iran, in peace negotiations with Washington, has insisted that the fighting in Lebanon. the war in the Gulf are inextricably linked.
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