The United States and Iran have launched fresh strikes against each other on Tuesday as the two sides continue to struggle in reaching an agreement for a ceasefire to end the ongoing conflict.
U.S forces announced firing a Hellfire missile to disable a tanker attempting to break through the American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as well as attacking a military ground control station on Iran’s Qeshm Island.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), on the other hand, said it attacked the U.S Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain with missiles and drones as a response to the strike on Qeshm. However, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has denied the claim.
Kuwait’s military said its air defences were intercepting missile and drone attacks and directed the public “not to approach or touch any debris, shrapnel, or unidentified objects that may result from intercepting hostile aerial targets”. Bahrain also issued similar warnings.
CENTCOM said two Iranian missile fired at Kuwait “fell short or broke apart enroute” and three missiles aimed at Bahrain were intercepted by the United States and Bahrain. It later claimed that it defended against a fresh wave of drones targeting U.S forces in Kuwait and that no personnel were harmed.
U.S forces also said they downed three one-way attack drones “launched by Iran toward civilian mariners that were rightfully transiting regional waters”.
Meanwhile, U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared before the Senate foreign relations committee on Tuesday, echoing claims that a deal with Iran was close and that the Islamic Republic agreed to negotiate aspects of its nuclear program.
Iran had earlier threatened to halt peace talks following Israel’s incursion into Lebanon, prompting U.S President Donald Trump to step in and broker an agreement between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah.
However, Israeli aircraft continued to launch new strikes across southern Lebanon despite Trump’s assurance.
