US downs 4 Iranian drones, 6 missiles near Hormuz
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- U.S. Central Command intercepted four Iranian drones headed for the Strait of Hormuz and six of seven ballistic missiles fired at Kuwait and Bahrain, with the seventh failing to reach its target; no U.S. personnel were reported harmed.
- The U.S. military struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites — including one on a strait island — "to defend against further attacks," while enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports that has choked the corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments.
- Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it targeted the Ali Al Salem airbase hosting U.S. forces in Kuwait and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain, per state-run IRNA; Kuwait confirmed intercepting fire and Bahrain activated air raid sirens.
- Negotiators reached a tentative agreement a week ago to extend the ceasefire by 60 days, but Trump has demanded unspecified changes and on Friday told reporters the Iran situation "seems to be going quite well" while warning he may pursue "the very tough way," adding that Iran still retains 21% to 22% of its missiles.
- Earlier in the week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait's main airport, killing one person and wounding dozens — an attack that has put further strain on the tenuous truce.
- Israel struck southern Lebanon on Friday, killing nine people across six locations; Iranian-backed Hezbollah has rejected this week's U.S.-brokered Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, and Iran has demanded any lasting truce extend to Lebanon.
- The U.S. also boarded a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Iran in the Indian Ocean and imposed new sanctions targeting people, firms, and tankers tied to Iran's energy sector.
Why it matters: Iran is retaliating against the two Gulf allies hosting the U.S. bases most involved in enforcing the strait blockade — a pattern that risks collapsing the 60-day ceasefire extension before negotiators can finalize it, especially as Iran has conditioned any lasting truce on a deal that covers Lebanon, where Hezbollah has already rejected this week's separate ceasefire.
