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US Bombs Iranian Military Sites 06/01 06:23
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
launched a strike of its own, and Kuwait reported incoming fire.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- 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 launched a strike of its own, and Kuwait
reported incoming fire.
The nominal ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. has been repeatedly tested
with such back-and-forth attacks, even as officials from both countries try 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.
In the meantime, Iran has 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.
Fighting has also escalated between Israel and the Lebanese militant group
Hezbollah, despite their nominal 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.
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.
"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.
"U.S. fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air
defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed
clear threats to ships transiting regional waters."
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. While the U.S. Air Force no longer flies the MQ-1 Predator, the U.S. Army
still does.
Iranian state television later shared footage of the ballistic missile
launch, including a close-up showing a sticker on its body depicting a bruised
U.S. President Donald Trump overlaid on a "closed" Strait of Hormuz with the
caption: "Until the last American soldier leaves the region."
Attacks rattle ceasefire talks
The attacks represent the latest escalation between the U.S. and Iran. 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.
A trickle of ships has made it out of the strait, through which a fifth of
all traded oil and natural gas once passed, but pressure continues on global
energy supplies, as well as on chemical fertilizer. That has led to fears of
food shortages. The Gulf region produces 30% of globally traded chemical
fertilizers.
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.
The U.S. and Israel launched the war with strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Trump
has offered shifting goals for the conflict, although preventing Iran from
building a nuclear weapon is among them. Iran has insisted its nuclear program
is peaceful, though it has enough highly enriched uranium to build several
nuclear weapons, should it choose to do so.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance suggested last week that negotiators are trying
to strike general terms on Iran's nuclear program, with the specifics to be
hammered out in the ensuing talks.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday again accused
the U.S. of "constantly" changing its positions.
"From the beginning, we knew -- and we continue to know -- that we are
negotiating in an atmosphere of mistrust," Baghaei told journalists.
Trump expressed optimism about the talks in a post on his Truth Social
platform early Monday in Washington.
"Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A.
and those that are with us," he wrote. "Just sit back and relax, it will all
work out well in the end -- It always does!"
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