DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched drones and missiles against Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday, responding to U.S. airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic. Tehran warned that negotiations to end the war could become “totally paralyzed” if Washington persists with its attacks.
Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s direct supervision sparked the ongoing conflict in the region, jeopardizing lasting ceasefire negotiations. A U.S.-supervised multinational maritime organization stated on Saturday that it would extend a route near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz to allow inbound and outbound traffic, intensifying tensions with Tehran.
The international community has long regarded the strait as an international passage, despite lying within Iranian and Omani territorial waters. Recently, Iran has attacked ships traveling on a UN-supported Omani side strait route twice. Iran maintains that only it should govern the strait after the war, a narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas once passed. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated this stance in Iraq on Sunday.
“Any interference in this matter, any attempt to establish new arrangements separate from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to more complications, delay reopening the Strait of Hormuz and increase tension,” he said in Baghdad.
The U.S. and Iran continue debating the terms of a provisional peace agreement, addressing issues like ship passage through the strait, lifting U.S. blockades and sanctions, and the future of Iran’s highly enriched uranium reserves. Under a memorandum signed early this month, the U.S. and Iran have 60 days to finalize details.
Attacks threaten to derail the agreement before completion. Ongoing clashes in Lebanon, where a soldier from Israel died from Hezbollah fire early Sunday, have also endangered the deal.
Fire in Bahrain and Kuwait
The Kuwaiti army reported intercepting incoming Iranian drones and missiles on Sunday morning following U.S. strikes. Kuwait, home to a significant U.S. Army base, detected and intercepted two ballistic missiles without any reported injuries or damages.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry shared that Iranian attacks damaged a residential building near the international airport, with no fatalities. The ministry released images of an eight-story building showing a totally destroyed top floor, filled with debris and shattered windows.
Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, condemned what it labeled a “dangerous escalation, revealing Tehran’s actions are not transient nor isolated incidents, but rather a deliberate and repeat aggression pattern.” The Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for both attacks.
U.S. Strikes on Iran
Latest U.S. strikes followed mutual fire exchanges over the weekend. Early Sunday, the U.S. Central Command reported attacking Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure,” communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and mine-laying capabilities, after a Saturday attack against a ship at sea. That ship, the Panama-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude for Qatar’s state energy company, a key Iran-U.S. negotiator.
On social media, Trump announced attacks on Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar locations for violating the Ceasefire Agreement. He warned there could come a point when the U.S. no longer remains reasonable, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist!” if a military completion occurs.
An earlier exchange occurred days before when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off Oman’s coast, leading to U.S. retaliatory strikes.
Continued Lebanese Conflict
Iran reiterated the ceasefire should encompass a halt in Lebanon, where Israel fights Hezbollah, supported by Iran. Days after the U.S. and Israel initiated war against Iran in February, Hezbollah began firing at Israel, aligning with their Iranian allies. Israel responded with an invasion, occupying southern Lebanon’s large areas and displacing hundreds of thousands.
Last week, Israel and the Lebanese government signed a framework agreement to end the conflict, excluding Hezbollah and Iran. Hezbollah criticized the agreement, rejecting calls to disarm.
On Sunday, Araghchi reiterated during Iraq’s visit that the U.S. must compel Israel to cease attacks and withdraw. Israel occupies around 600 square kilometers (231 square miles) south of Lebanon as a security area against Hezbollah attacks. However, sporadic clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continue.
The Iran-backed group leader said Saturday that Hezbollah would fight on until Israel withdraws, stating the Israel-Lebanon agreement signed Friday is “nonexistent.”
The frequency of Israeli attacks in Lebanon dropped significantly since Iran-U.S. agreement signing in mid-June. Yet, attacks persisted, killing at least one person Saturday, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Two separate Israeli strikes targeted southern Lebanon Sunday morning—one in Taybeh and another in Nabatiyeh, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported. Immediate information about casualties was not available.
Overnight, Hezbollah militants killed an Israeli soldier in Deir Siryan village, southern Lebanon, reported the Israeli army. Hezbollah did not comment on the incident.
Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. AP journalist Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with AI tool assistance.
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