US says Iranian radar and command and control sites struck over the weekend
US central command (Centcom) has said that it struck targets in Iran over the weekend, in a statement that came just minutes after Kuwait announced it was under attack.
Labelling their actions “self-defence”, the US said it hit Iranian “radar and command and control sites for drones in Goruk, Iran and Qeshm Island”.
Centcom said the attack was in response to “aggressive Iranian actions”, including the “shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters.”
The US strikes mark the third time that the ceasefire between Iran and America has been violated since it was agreed in early April. On both previous occasions, Tehran and Washington played down the significance of the exchange of strikes and the truce was able to continue.
The latest action comes amid a flurry of diplomatic wrangling between the Trump administration and Iran’s leadership to secure a lasting ceasefire and return shipping to the strait of Hormuz.
Key events
Israel has said an “aerial target that was fired from Lebanese territory” was intercepted early on Monday.
The IDF said the interception happened after alerts sound across “several areas in northern Israel.”
Israel has in recent days expanded its incursion into southern Lebanon, as part of its ongoing war against Iran-backed Hezbollah. The continuing operations have displaced more than a million people and left thousands dead, and come despite a nominal ceasefire that has been in place between the two sides since April.
In its Monday morning statement announcing the weekend strikes on Iran, US central command (Centcom) said that the action was in response to the “shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone”.
On Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had shot down an MQ-1 drone over its “territorial waters”.
The statement, reported by Iranian media, described the drone as “hostile”, and said it was shot down after it crossed over into Iran’s territorial waters.
Centcom said on Monday that the US drone was operating “over international waters.”
The latest exchange of fire between the US and Iran marks the third major violation of a ceasefire that was agreed by both sides in April.
That deal was reached after almost six weeks of violent conflict that began when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in February, killing the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Since then, the truce has largely held, while the Trump administration has used a blockade on ships in the strait of Hormuz to pressure Iran into agreeing to a more permanent peace agreement that would reopen the vital waterway and address concerns over Tehran’s nuclear program.
However on 7 May, the US and Iran exchanged fire, testing the strength of the ceasefire. Iran accused the US of violations by targeting two ships in the strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas, while the US insisted it struck in retaliation, after three US destroyers were targeted.
Then last week, the US said it had targeted missile launch sites and boats attempting to lay mines.
On both previous occasions, the US insisted that the action carried out was limited, and did not indicate the ceasefire with Iran was over.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has said it targeted an airbase used by the US to launch an attack on Sirik Island in southern Iran, according to a statement in Iranian media.
Sirik Island is located in the strait of Hormuz. The IRGC said the US was targeting a telecoms tower on the island.
More from the Kuwaiti army, which has announced that its air defences are intercepting missile and drone attacks.
The General Staff of the Army wishes to advise that any sounds of explosions heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting these hostile attacks.”
Kuna, the state news agency, reported that air raid sirens were ringing across the Gulf nation.
US says Iranian radar and command and control sites struck over the weekend
US central command (Centcom) has said that it struck targets in Iran over the weekend, in a statement that came just minutes after Kuwait announced it was under attack.
Labelling their actions “self-defence”, the US said it hit Iranian “radar and command and control sites for drones in Goruk, Iran and Qeshm Island”.
Centcom said the attack was in response to “aggressive Iranian actions”, including the “shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters.”
The US strikes mark the third time that the ceasefire between Iran and America has been violated since it was agreed in early April. On both previous occasions, Tehran and Washington played down the significance of the exchange of strikes and the truce was able to continue.
The latest action comes amid a flurry of diplomatic wrangling between the Trump administration and Iran’s leadership to secure a lasting ceasefire and return shipping to the strait of Hormuz.
Summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
The Kuwaiti military has said that the country’s air defences are currently intercepting hostile missile and drone attacks, after the US said it conducted strikes on radar and control sites in Iran over the weekend. Kuwaiti state media reported that sirens were sounding across the country on Monday morning.
Minutes after Kuwait reported coming under attack, US central command (Centcom) said it had conducted “strikes on Iranian radar and command and control sites for drones” over the weekend.
The measured and deliberate strikes occurred on Saturday and Sunday in response to aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters. U.S. fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters.”
Kuwait was one of a number of Gulf countries to face weeks of reprisal attacks from Iran, after the US and Israel launched their war in February. A ceasefire reached between the US and Iran in April has since largely held.
