US attacks Iranian coastal sites after Iran launches drones in latest flare-up

U.S. forces struck Iranian coastal radar sites on Saturday after shooting down four drones launched by Iran toward the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military said.

Washington believes the drones were targeting regional maritime traffic, Reuters reported.

The strikes hit Iranian surveillance sites at Goruk and Qeshm Island, complicating efforts to end the three-month war between the two countries.

What did the US strike in Iran and why?

U.S. Central Command shot down four Iranian attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz, then struck Iranian coastal radar and surveillance sites at Goruk and Qeshm Island. Washington said the drones were targeting maritime traffic in the strait. The strikes mark the latest exchange in a conflict that has disrupted global shipping since February.

How did Iran respond to the US strikes?

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired missiles at U.S. bases in the region in retaliation and targeted four tankers attempting to cross the strait without its permission. Iran said it struck U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain with ballistic missiles. The U.S. military said six missiles were intercepted and a seventh failed to reach its target.

Kuwaiti air defenses were intercepting missile and drone attacks of undisclosed origin, state media reported. In Bahrain, sirens sounded and residents were urged to seek shelter. The exchanges marked a sharp escalation on a day that saw hostilities flare across multiple fronts.

Where do US-Iran peace talks stand?

The U.S. and Iran have been engaged in largely indirect negotiations to secure an interim deal that would halt the war and leave issues including Iran's nuclear program to further talks. As part of any agreement, Tehran wants access to billions of dollars in frozen oil revenue, sanctions waivers on crude exports, the lifting of a U.S. port blockade, and leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. A deal has remained elusive amid periodic skirmishes.

Iran has effectively blocked the strait, through which about a fifth of the world's oil transited before the war. The conflict has driven up oil prices and disrupted supply chains. The U.N. World Food Program said on Friday it was pushing millions of people closer to hunger due to rising fuel and transport costs.

President Donald Trump is facing mounting domestic pressure over rising gas prices to end the unpopular war. He told NBC that while most of Iran's drone and missile facilities had been destroyed, Tehran still has access to roughly a fifth of its original arsenal. "They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say percentage wise, maybe 21%-22% of their missiles," Trump told NBC's Meet the Press, according to excerpts released on Friday.

When asked why Iran's leaders were not more inclined to strike a deal, Trump said: "Because they are strong. They're proud. There are things they never thought they'd be doing that they're going to have to do, they've got no choice, and it takes a little while."

Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, told CNN on Friday that a peace deal hinged on the Trump administration unfreezing $24 billion in Iranian assets. He warned that the U.S. would "enter into a dark corridor" if it resumed attacks.

How is the wider region affected by the fighting?

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has continued in parallel with the US-Iran conflict. Hezbollah said on Friday it carried out two attacks on Israeli troops in south Lebanon, including near the recently captured Beaufort Castle. Lebanese security services said Israeli airstrikes hit towns across southern Lebanon.

Iran has reaffirmed support for Hezbollah and made a ceasefire between Israel and the group a condition for any peace deal with Washington. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem this week rejected a U.S.-brokered pact between Israel and the Lebanese government to halt the fighting. The deal did not include an Israeli withdrawal, and Hezbollah had not been party to the negotiations.

Israel has kept up strikes in southern Lebanon and said its forces would not withdraw or halt operations. Lebanon's parliament speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri said on Friday he would agree to the group's withdrawal from southern Lebanon if Israeli troops simultaneously left territory they occupy. Residents of Gaza, northern Israel, and Kuwait have all come under fire this week, despite U.S.-arranged ceasefires that Trump described as involving "shooting in a more moderate manner" rather than a total halt to hostilities.