(Adnkronos) – The US military launched “self-defense” attacks against Iran and stated that it had shot down ballistic missiles and drones launched against ships and Gulf countries. Tehran responded by striking targets in Bahrain and Kuwait, where US military bases are located. The US attacks on Qeshm island, in the Strait of Hormuz, were “a response to Iran’s attempted attacks across the Middle East,” the US Central Command (Centcom) said. Iran claimed to have attacked US bases and helicopters in a “country in the region” using missiles and drones in retaliation. Centcom stated that Tehran launched two missiles against Kuwait and three against Bahrain, all of which disintegrated or were intercepted.
The latest attacks occur in a context of stalemate in ceasefire negotiations, after talks for an agreement to end the months-long war made no progress over the weekend. Centcom added that the attack on Qeshm island targeted an Iranian military ground control station and that the US military also shot down three attack drones launched by Iran against “civilian mariners legitimately transiting regional waters.” The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that “compromising the security of the Strait of Hormuz will come at a high price for aggressive US military action.”
Centcom also stated that Iran launched “several” ballistic missiles towards countries in the region. “Two Iranian missiles launched against Kuwait fell or disintegrated during their trajectory, and three missiles launched against Bahrain were immediately intercepted by US and Bahraini air defense forces.”
