US strikes Iran military site, shoots down drones; Iran hits Kuwait base

The United States carried out new strikes inside Iran, targeting a military facility and downing Iranian attack drones, US officials said. The moves prompted an apparent Iranian retaliatory attack on an American airbase in Kuwait.

US Central Command forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz, according to US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. A ground control station in Iran’s Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone was also hit.

“These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” an official told Reuters.

Two hours later, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that the Revolutionary Guards had targeted an American base in Kuwait “that served as the source of the attack.” Kuwait’s army confirmed its air defenses were intercepting hostile missile and drone threats just before 6 a.m. in Kuwait City.

The apparent tit-for-tat strikes came as Iranian forces also fired at four ships attempting to cross the strait, IRIB reported. The broadcaster said the vessels tried to enter the Persian Gulf without coordination with security forces around 12:35 a.m. local time.

The fresh strikes, combined with recent remarks from Donald Trump about Iran, Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, showed how far apart the US and Iran remain in talks aimed at ending the war. In Lebanon, Israel launched broad strikes and declared a large area of the south a new combat zone.

After saying over the weekend that a deal was close, Trump on Wednesday threatened to “finish the job” if Tehran did not agree to terms.

“Iran want very much to make a deal. So far they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be,” he said at a televised White House cabinet meeting. “Either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.”

He claimed Iran was “negotiating on fumes” and said November’s midterm elections would not push him to rush a deal. Trump and US officials had previously said the war would end in four to six weeks after US-Israeli strikes began on 28 February.

At the same meeting, Trump appeared to warn Oman when asked about a possible short-term arrangement allowing Iran and Oman to control the strait. He said the waterway would be “open to everybody” and added that “Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up.” The White House did not immediately clarify the remark.

Iranian state TV had earlier claimed it obtained an unofficial draft agreement that would restore commercial shipping through the strait to prewar levels within a month, with Iran and Oman jointly managing traffic. The White House called the report a “complete fabrication.”

Another unresolved issue is whether a US-Iran ceasefire would cover Israel’s operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that Lebanon must be included.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military is “deepening its operation” in Lebanon. Overnight, Israeli troops clashed with Hezbollah fighters along a strategic river in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah described “point-blank range” combat in a town just beyond an Israeli-declared “yellow line.”

The Israeli military said it had struck 550 targets since the beginning of the week. Hezbollah has vowed to fight until the war ends in Lebanon and Israel withdraws its troops from the south.

Early on Thursday, Israel’s military issued further evacuation warnings for residents of Tyre in Lebanon’s south. More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders since 2 March. Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,200 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Fighting has continued despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced on 16 April. The World Health Organization said at least 608 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce. The Israeli military said 10 of its soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire, six by Hezbollah explosive drones.