The United States said Monday that it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran after Tehran shot down an American drone over the weekend. Iran then said it targeted American soldiers in Kuwait with missiles, which the U.S. says it shot down.
The nominal ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. has been repeatedly tested with back-and-forth attacks, though officials from both countries are still trying to negotiate an end to the war. It’s not clear how close they are to a deal — and there is always the risk that an attack could derail those talks.
Fighting has also been escalating between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, despite their nominal ceasefire, and that has increasingly threatened the emerging deal to extend the Iran war ceasefire.
On Monday afternoon U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to dial back their fighting after he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with Hezbollah through mediators. Moments later, though, Israel said it had detected missile launches from Lebanon and warned Israelis in part of northern Israel to take cover in protected spaces.
Meantime, Iran maintained its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy supplies and driving up the price of fuel around the world, with far-reaching consequences. A cargo ship came under attack off Iraq Monday afternoon, the British military said.
Fighting in Lebanon poses risks to Iran ceasefire
Israel has extended its occupation deep into Lebanon, and Hezbollah — which joined the war in support of its main backer, Iran — continues to launch drones into Israel.
Iran wants any agreement to include Lebanon, and its foreign ministry on Monday highlighted the rising tensions in Lebanon, saying via government media: “The responsibility of the results and consequences of this situation is on the U.S.”
Israeli military pushes north, demands civilians leave
Israel has declared a “combat zone” south of the Litani River and fighting has erupted north of the river as well. Israel has demanded evacuations from many towns north of the river.
In his social media post about Israel and Hezbollah scaling back their fighting, Trump added that talks with Iran “are continuing, at a rapid pace.”
In Pakistan, which has been a mediator between Washington and Tehran, a former ambassador to the U.S. said that Israel’s actions in Lebanon were complicating the diplomatic environment.
“Israel is creating a new strategic reality in its neighborhood,” Masood Khan told The Associated Press.
US military attacks Iran
The U.S. military’s Central Command said it carried out the strikes in Iran on Saturday and Sunday around the city of Geruk and on Qeshm Island, hitting air defenses, a ground control station and two attack drones it said threatened ships in the region.
“The measured and deliberate strikes occurred … in response to aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters,” Central Command said.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is at a trickle compared to before the war, with ship owners deterred by the risk of an Iranian attack. Only 36 ships transited the waterway in the seven days leading up to to Friday, a third of them carrying crude oil or petroleum products, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, which counts only ships big enough to carry globally significant amounts of oil or cargo. That compares to an average of more than 130 ships per day before the war began.
A fifth of all the world’s traded oil and natural gas once passed through the strait. Its closure has put pressure not only on energy supplies but on chemical fertilizer, generating fears of food shortages. The Gulf region produces 30% of globally traded chemical fertilizers.
Kuwait reports incoming fire
Kuwait said its air defenses opened fire early Monday morning to intercept incoming drone and missile fire.
Around the same time, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it responded to an American attack without saying where, likely referring to the attack on Kuwait. In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, the Guard said that U.S. forces had targeted a telecommunications tower.
Kuwait is home to U.S. Army Central, the Mideast forward command for the Army.
Iranian state television shared footage of the ballistic missile launch, including a close-up showing a sticker on its body depicting a bruised Trump overlaid on a “closed” Strait of Hormuz with the caption: “Until the last American soldier leaves the region.”
Central Command said U.S. forces shot down two ballistic missiles Iran launched toward bases home to American troops. No Americans were hurt, it added.
Attacks rattle ceasefire talks
Over the weekend, the U.S. fired a missile into the engine room of a Gambia-flagged cargo ship trying to break its blockade of Iranian ports.
On Monday, a cargo ship off Umm Qasr, Iraq, was struck by a projectile that caused a “large explosion,” the British military said. It offered no other details, and no one claimed the attack. Iran previously has attacked ships off Iraq.
Trump met with advisers on Friday but has yet to decide on whether to move ahead with a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait. Iran has said the deal had not been finalized.
Source : https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-irael-war-kuwait-strikes-88daa9f90b48baaa7beb18e35515c59d
