Violence has flared up again in the Middle East, with the US military announcing a third round of strikes “in self-defence” against Iranian targets, while Tehran responded at dawn on June 1 with missile and drone attacks on Kuwait, a US ally in the Persian Gulf.
“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted self-defence strikes this weekend against Iranian radar, command and control drone sites in Gorouk, Iran, and Qashm Island,” the U.S. military body responsible for U.S. forces in the Middle East said in a statement.
The operation is at least the third publicly announced US strike on “self-defence” grounds against Iranian targets since the ceasefire went into effect in early April.
The strikes came amid an exchange of Framework Agreement proposals, including a 60-day extension of the current ceasefire, as well as the potential opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
The White House declined to comment in response to Radio Liberty’s request for comment, advising to contact CENTCOM.
U.S. Central Command said the strikes were at least partly in response to the shooting down of a drone by Iranian forces.
The command called the strikes “measured and deliberate strikes conducted on Saturday and Sunday in response to Iran’s aggressive actions, which included the shooting down of a U.S. MQ-1 drone flying over international waters.”
The report states that US fighter jets responded by “destroying Iranian air defences, a ground control station and two attack drones that posed a clear threat to vessels travelling over regional waters.”
No U.S. service members were injured during the operation, according to the command.
Iranian state media quoted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (quir) as saying its forces had struck the airbase from which US forces launched the latest attacks, without specifying the specific country.
At the same time, the military in Kuwait said its air defence systems were repelling “enemy missile attacks and drone strikes” while an air alert was sounded in that country, which is a US ally.
In a post on social media X, the military did not specify exactly what strikes were being carried out by Iran, but the small Persian Gulf country has often been the target of retaliatory strikes by Tehran, which has claimed the US attacks came from its territory.
U.S. forces preceded the strikes on 7 May after Iranian missile, drone and small boat attacks targeting U.S. warships, and carried out additional strikes on 25 May and 27-28 May against missile positions, mine launchers and other military targets that Washington said posed a threat to U.S. troops and merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf.