Tehran: The United States said it shot down a pair of Iranian drones threatening the Strait of Hormuz, the latest escalation of violence as the war entered its 100th day on Sunday without an end in sight.
Weeks of indirect talks marked by head-to-head threats and sporadic exchanges of fire have failed to secure a deal to end the conflict or reopen the vital waterway, a choke point for Gulf oil and gas shipments.
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The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it destroyed two Iranian drones “threatening international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz”, hours after it announced it had shot down four other drones and coastal surveillance radars.
Tehran responded on Saturday with a volley of rockets at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait, drawing a furious response from the Gulf monarchies and piling pressure on a shaky ceasefire agreed on April 8.
CENTCOM said Iran fired seven ballistic missiles toward Bahrain and Kuwait, with six intercepted and one misfired. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted “enemy bases in the area” with missiles.
Bahrain, which hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, denounced the latest attacks as “open aggression”, while Kuwait said they “represent a dangerous escalation”.
In Bahrain’s capital, Manama, an AFP journalist heard three explosions as air raid sirens sounded.
In Kuwait, another AFP reporter heard repeated explosions near the international airport, where a Wednesday attack blamed on Iran killed one person.
“We woke up to a huge explosion,” said Reem, a mother of two. My children were terrified and I could not calm them down.
‘flagrant violation’
Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced the latest US strikes as “flagrant” violations while condemning Washington’s “hostile and provocative behavior”.
Efforts to turn the ceasefire into a lasting solution have repeatedly stalled, while the conflict has roiled global markets and increased pressure on US President Donald Trump in the country ahead of midterm elections.
“The negotiations are at an impasse and Trump must break this impasse,” Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, told CNN as he called for the release of some $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
Washington may instead seek to use the funds to pay for damages caused by Iranian attacks on Gulf allies.
“The U.S. Treasury will use all available means to allow Iranian assets to be made available to our Gulf allies to support reconstruction and repair for any future damage caused by Iran,” said a source familiar with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s thinking.
Lebanon, embroiled in the Middle East war when the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2, called on Friday for Iran to stop interfering in its affairs.
Beirut’s army chief Rodolphe Haykal left Saturday for Pakistan, which has emerged as a central mediator between the United States and Iran.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi landed in Tehran the same day to meet Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Iran, in its peace negotiations with Washington, has insisted that the fighting in Lebanon and the war in the Gulf are inextricably linked.
On Saturday, Lebanon said an Israeli attack in the country’s south killed three of its soldiers. The Israeli military said it was “reviewing the incident” and insisted its campaign in Lebanon was targeting Hezbollah, not government forces.
The health ministry said two women were killed and 22 people were wounded in an Israeli attack in Saksakiyeh in the south.
The Israeli army, meanwhile, on Saturday announced the death of two of its soldiers.
The ceasefire announced in April has not stopped the fighting in Lebanon, and a new conditional ceasefire agreement announced this week was flatly rejected by Hezbollah.
Football explosion
The latest unrest came amid a diplomatic dispute over the United States’ refusal to grant visas to some staff of Iran’s World Cup soccer team.
Iranian state television confirmed that the team’s players and technical staff had received visas, but reported that 15 administrative and managerial members of the delegation had been rejected.
An unidentified US administration official said: "We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to bring terrorists into the United States under false pretenses."
Iran’s embassy in Turkey asked FIFA "hold the US accountable for violations of its rules and discriminatory treatment" of the Iranian team.
The Iran Football Federation, whose chief Mehdi Taj is said to have been among those denied visas, described the decision as "Political interference in sports at its worst".
Adding to the tensions, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico said on Saturday that the team had been notified that under visa conditions, the team must enter and leave the US on the same day as their matches.
