CAIRO, Egypt: Iran launched ballistic missiles and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait early on June 6, Bahrain's government said, adding that they were intercepted. It urged Tehran to immediately stop attacks on Gulf neighbors, calling them a "serious escalation."
Iran's foreign ministry said the U.S. struck surveillance sites on Qeshm Island and near Sirik, which it said were used to protect borders and "ensure the safety of navigation in international waters." Tehran called the strike a violation of the fragile ceasefire.
The latest exchange of attacks came as the Trump administration pushed Iran to reach a deal to end the war, which has strained the global economy and raised the risk of a hunger crisis in some of the world's most vulnerable countries.
Earlier, the U.S. military said it had shot down several Iranian missiles and drones headed toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf Arab allies and had hit some of Iran's coastal surveillance radar sites in response.
"The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic," U.S. Central Command said on social media. It confirmed it struck radar sites, including one on an island in the strait, "to prevent further attacks."
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it targeted the Ali Al Salem air base, which hosts U.S. forces in Kuwait, and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. The U.S. military said there were no reports of harm to its personnel.
Earlier in the week, Iranian drones badly damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait's main airport, killing one person and injuring dozens.
The U.S. military continued its blockade of Iranian ports in response to Tehran's disruption of a key route for global oil and natural gas shipments, which has driven up energy prices and created political challenges for President Donald Trump's Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections.
Despite fears that the ceasefire could collapse, Trump told reporters on June 5 that "the situation with Iran seems to be going quite well." He said at an event that "we're going to come out of Iran very quickly and it's going to be very strong one way or the other, whether it's a piece of paper or the very tough way."
Trump increasingly appears to be under pressure over the war. U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal a week ago to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and begin a new round of talks on Iran's nuclear program. But Trump has called for unspecified changes, and Iranian officials have given no public sign of accepting the deal.
Asked why it was taking so long, Trump told NBC's "Meet the Press" that it was because "it's a very hard thing for them."
He added that Iran still has about 21 percent to 22 percent of its missiles left. One of the main goals of the war was to destroy Tehran's missile program.
