US shoots down 4 Iranian drones, intercepts 6 missiles
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- U.S. Central Command reported that seven ballistic missiles were fired toward Kuwait and Bahrain late Friday night.
- U.S. Central Command shot down four Iranian attack drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz.
- U.S. forces intercepted six of the seven missiles; the seventh missed its target.
- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attacks targeted U.S. bases in retaliation for earlier U.S. strikes on Iranian radar sites in Goruk and Qeshm Island.
- Kuwait condemned the Iranian missile and drone strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and a threat to regional security.
- Iran's Foreign Ministry denounced the U.S. attacks as a flagrant violation of the April ceasefire, accusing Washington of endangering regional security.
Why it matters: Iran's IRGC sees the strikes as a warning, while Kuwait and Bahrain view them as sovereignty violations, intensifying diplomatic pressure on the U.S. and jeopardizing the fragile ceasefire that underpins regional trade through the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation also risks further disruptions to oil shipments, affecting global energy markets and the economies of Gulf states.
