The ceasefire between the United States and Iran is now hanging in the balance as both countries exchange strikes, increasing tension across the region. On Wednesday morning, Iran launched missiles at a US base in Kuwait, affecting the country's airport. The attack resulted in the death of one Indian national and injured approximately 60 other people.
Iran's attack on Kuwait was a response to a US missile strike on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz. The US also targeted a Botswana-flagged oil tanker heading toward an Iranian port on Kharg Island. According to the US Central Command, the ship did not comply with the American blockade of Iranian ports.
In retaliation, Iran struck the Gulf states of Kuwait and Bahrain. Iranian authorities stated that the attacks were directed at American air and helicopter bases in the region, as well as the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard described the retaliatory strikes as a lesson against unprovoked attacks on Iran's facilities.
The US claimed that all Iranian attacks on American forces failed, asserting that its missiles and drones were either intercepted or fell short of their targets. However, this statement contradicts the Kuwait government's report on the impact of the strikes on its airport. CENTCOM also reported shooting down three Iranian attack drones launched towards civilian mariners transiting regional waters.
This latest escalation comes three months after the initial US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Although a ceasefire between the US and Iran has been in effect since April 8, efforts to negotiate a lasting resolution to the conflict have so far failed due to disagreements over Iran's uranium enrichment and control over the Strait of Hormuz. Last week, Iran and the US announced a preliminary agreement to halt hostilities, but neither side has formally approved or signed the deal.
The recent attacks also occur amid concerns that Israel's expanding campaign in Lebanon could affect the US-Iran ceasefire. Israel's recent attack in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon killed six people and injured at least 48 others. CNN reported that US President Donald Trump expressed perturbation over Israel's plans for military operations in Lebanon during ongoing negotiations to end the three-month-long crisis. Trump was quoted as saying, 'I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constant fighting with Lebanon, you know, at some point I said, "Bibi, we got to stop this."' He also noted, 'I don't want to bore anybody, but I started because we can't let them have a nuclear weapon. Now, that pertains to Israel because they probably would have been the first ones to get hit. There would be no Israel.'
