US says it struck Iranian radar and command sites over weekend

US Central Command said it struck Iranian radar and command and control sites over the weekend in what it called self-defense.

The targets were in Goruk and on Qeshm Island, the command said. It said the strikes responded to Iranian actions that included the downing of a US MQ-1 drone operating over international waters.

The action came minutes after Kuwait announced it was under attack. Kuwaiti state media reported air raid sirens across the country, and the Kuwaiti army said its air defenses were intercepting missiles and drones.

The strikes mark the third violation of the ceasefire between the US and Iran since it was agreed in early April. Both sides have previously played down similar exchanges and kept the truce in place.

The latest round comes as the Trump administration and Iranian officials try to reach a lasting agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Oil prices rose more than 2 percent in Asia on Monday as talks showed little progress.

Brent crude gained 2.1 percent to $93.02 a barrel, and US crude rose 2.6 percent to $89.61.

President Trump faces pressure to ease energy prices before the November midterm elections while also dealing with criticism from Iran hawks in his own party. The two sides remain divided over sanctions relief and the release of tens of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian oil revenues.

Danny Citrinowicz, a former head of an Iran branch of Israeli military intelligence and now a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said neither side appears to want open war. He warned that recurring incidents could produce “a crisis neither side originally intended.”

Iran has kept its restrictions on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and the US has maintained its own blockade. A trickle of ships has passed through, but supplies of oil, natural gas and chemical fertilizers remain under pressure. The Gulf region produces 30 percent of globally traded chemical fertilizers.

Trump posted on Truth Social that “Iran really wants to make a deal.” He criticized critics who urge him to move faster or slower or to go to war, saying they should “sit back and relax.” His post did not mention the weekend strikes or the attacks reported in Kuwait.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had shot down the MQ-1 drone over Iranian territorial waters. US Central Command said the aircraft was over international waters.

The ceasefire has been tested twice before. On May 7 the two sides exchanged fire after Iran accused the US of striking ships and civilian areas. Last week the US said it hit missile launch sites and boats laying mines. In each case both sides described the action as limited.

The IRGC also said it targeted a US airbase used to launch an attack on Sirik Island in the Strait of Hormuz, where it said the US struck a telecoms tower.