The U.S. military said it carried out what it called self-defense strikes on Iranian radar and drone control sites over the weekend, while Iran said it targeted an air base used in the U.S. attack as the two countries continued to trade strikes amid talks to end their war.
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U.S. Central Command said Sunday in a post on X that the strikes had been carried out in Goruk and the island of Qeshm “in response to aggressive Iranian actions,” saying Iran had shot down a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters.
U.S. fighter aircraft eliminated Iranian air defenses, a ground control station and two one-way attack drones “that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” the command said, adding that no U.S. service members were harmed.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Monday that its aerospace force had targeted the source of what it called a U.S. attack on a telecommunications tower on Sirik Island in Hormozgan province. It did not give the location of the base.
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In a statement carried by Iranian state media, the IRGC said that if U.S. attacks continued, its response would be “completely different” and Washington would be responsible for the consequences.
The Kuwaiti army said in a post on X that it was “currently responding to hostile missile and drone threats” and that any sounds of explosions were the result of air defense systems intercepting attacks. It did not say where the attack was coming from or what was being targeted, but Kuwait hosts a U.S. air base that has previously been attacked by Iran and its proxies.
The United States and Iran have traded strikes several times since agreeing to a ceasefire in early April, including last week when Iran also targeted an air base. Negotiations over a broader agreement are dragging on amid disagreements on several issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.
In a social media post early Monday, President Donald Trump told critics of the delay to “just sit back and relax,” saying, “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.”
The war the U.S. and Israel launched on Feb. 28 has killed thousands of people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, as well as 13 U.S. service members. It has also sent global energy prices soaring after Iran responded by effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route that carried a fifth of the world’s oil supply before the war.
Trump said Friday that Iran must agree to never have a nuclear weapon, the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened for “unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions,” and that any mines in the waterway must be destroyed.
Iran has accused Trump of stalling the talks with “excessive demands.”
Also complicating the U.S.-Iran talks is Israel’s war in Lebanon, where Israeli military operations against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia have continued despite a ceasefire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel seeks direct control over more of Lebanon after Israeli troops captured Beaufort Ridge, a medieval castle and key strategic site, in their deepest incursion into the country in more than 25 years.
A U.S. official said Sunday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun as part of ongoing diplomatic negotiations and proposed a plan that would “create space for gradual de-escalation and an effective cessation of hostilities.” The official did not say when the conversations took place.
