The US military said it shot down Iranian ballistic missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf states on Friday, while striking some of Iran’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response.
US Central Command said on social media Friday night that Iran fired seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, with US forces intercepting six of the missiles and a seventh failing to reach its target. The military said there were no reports of harm to US personnel.
The ballistic missiles were fired after the US earlier in the day shot down four Iranian drones that were launched toward Strait of Hormuz.
“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” US Central Command said on social media.
Kuwaiti’s military said forces were intercepting missiles and drones attacking the country, while Bahrain activated air raid sirens and told residents to move to the nearest safe location and follow official instructions.
The US military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s chokehold on the crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments.
US Central Command said it hit the radar sites, including an island in the strait, “to defend against further attacks.”
It was the latest in back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous ceasefire in the war and efforts to reach a deal to extend that truce.
Despite the attacks raising new concerns that the ceasefire could collapse, US President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that “the situation with Iran seems to be going quite well.”
“We’re going to come out of Iran very quickly and it’s going to be very strong one way or the other, whether it’s a piece of paper or the very tough way,” Trump said at an event with farmers in Wisconsin. “The very tough way is maybe the easier way, but we’re going to come out, and your fertilizer prices are going to go way down, just like they were four months ago.”
