U.S. forces carried out strikes on Iranian coastal radar and surveillance sites on Saturday after shooting down drones that were launched by Iran in the direction of the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military said. The strikes targeted installations on Goruk and Qeshm Island, both situated along the strait, according to a statement posted by U.S. Central Command on X.
A U.S. official told Reuters that the four Iranian drones were believed to be aiming at regional maritime traffic. After the drones were intercepted, U.S. forces struck Iran's surveillance infrastructure on the two islands, central to monitoring movements through one of the world's most strategically important waterways.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had retaliated for the U.S. strikes by targeting U.S. bases in the region with missiles and by firing on four tankers that attempted to transit the strait without Tehran's permission. State media in Kuwait reported that the country's air defences were intercepting missile and drone attacks of undisclosed origin. In Bahrain, civil defence sirens sounded and residents were advised to seek shelter.
Tehran reported that it had struck U.S. bases in both countries with ballistic missiles. The U.S. military countered that six missiles were intercepted and that a seventh did not hit its intended target.
The exchanges come as Washington and Tehran continue largely indirect diplomatic engagements aimed at securing an interim agreement to halt a war that has now lasted three months. Negotiators say the proposed pause would postpone more contested issues, including Iran's nuclear programme, for subsequent talks. Despite talks, periodic skirmishes have persisted and a comprehensive deal has not been reached.
As part of any negotiated arrangement, Iran has insisted on access to billions of dollars in oil revenue, waivers to permit crude exports, the lifting of a U.S. blockade on its ports and leverage over operations in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian authorities have effectively blocked shipping through the strait, which previously handled about a fifth of the world's oil shipments before the onset of hostilities.
Domestic politics in the United States have added pressure on the administration to resolve the conflict. President Donald Trump has faced intensifying criticism at home over rising gasoline prices, which opponents and commentators have linked to the war. In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press," excerpts of which were released by the network, the president said that while most of Iran's drone and missile manufacturing facilities had been destroyed, Tehran still retained access to roughly a fifth of its missile inventory.
"They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say percentage wise, maybe 21%-22% of their missiles. It's a lot of missiles, but it's not what it was when we first attacked," the president said in the excerpts.
When questioned about why Iran's leadership had not been more willing to sign a deal despite what he has described as desperate circumstances, the president attributed their stance to national pride and strength.
"Because they are strong. They’re proud. There are things they never thought they’d be doing that they’re going to have to do, they’ve got no choice, and it takes a little while," he said.
The current conflict's origins, according to public timelines cited by officials, trace to coordinated military action by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on February 28. In the months since, Tehran has launched missiles and drones at Gulf states that host U.S. facilities and has curtailed most commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Those developments have pushed up oil prices and created disruptions in global supply chains for a variety of goods.
Humanitarian consequences have emerged alongside market effects. The U.N. World Food Programme said on Friday that rising fuel and transport costs were pushing millions closer to hunger, underscoring the broader impacts beyond immediate battlefield developments.
Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, told CNN that a peace agreement depended on the U.S. unfreezing $24 billion in Iranian assets, and cautioned that renewed U.S. attacks would lead the United States into "a dark corridor."
Fighting has also intensified across neighboring theatres despite intermittent ceasefire efforts. In Lebanon, the Iran-aligned armed group Hezbollah reported conducting two attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, including near the area known as Beaufort Castle which it says it recently captured. Lebanese security services reported Israeli airstrikes across towns in southern Lebanon.
Iran has publicly reiterated its support for Hezbollah while demanding that Israel withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon. Tehran has made a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah a precondition for any Washington-brokered agreement to resolve the broader war. The most recent round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel began at the start of March, and Hezbollah has characterized its operations as acts of support for Tehran.
Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem rejected this week a U.S.-mediated arrangement between Israel and the Lebanese government intended to halt hostilities in southern Lebanon. Qassem and Hezbollah noted that the accord did not secure an Israeli withdrawal, and Hezbollah was not a participant in the negotiations.
Israel has continued strikes in southern Lebanon, and officials there have said their forces will not withdraw or suspend operations, even as tensions with the United States have risen.
Lebanon's parliament speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri said on Friday he would accept the group's withdrawal from southern Lebanon only if Israeli troops simultaneously left territory they occupy in Lebanon.
Along with Lebanon, communities in Gaza, northern Israel and Kuwait have experienced shelling and strikes in recent days, despite ceasefires arranged with U.S. involvement. President Trump described these ceasefires as involving "shooting in a more moderate manner," characterizing them as less a true halt to fighting than a reduction in intensity.
The spike in military activity across multiple fronts highlights the fragility of current arrangements and the array of military, economic and humanitarian pressures that intersect in the region. For now, diplomatic efforts toward an interim halt continue alongside periodic exchanges of fire and disruptions to maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.