Tensions escalated early Thurday, amid fragile ceasefire negotiations as U.S. forces struck an Iranian ground control station near Bandar Abbas Airport and shot down five Iranian drones, which U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) described as "measured, purely defensive" actions intended to maintain the ceasefire.
The U.S. military stated these strikes were in response to Iranian forces threatening commercial maritime traffic and U.S. troops in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian naval forces had previously fired upon a U.S. tanker that attempted to transit by turning off its radar system.
In retaliation for the Bandar Abbas strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched missiles and drones at a U.S. airbase in Kuwait, which Kuwait’s military confirmed and intercepted.
The IRGC claimed the attack targeted the "source" of the aggression and warned of a "more decisive response" to future U.S. actions. CENTCOM condemned the Iranian strike on Kuwait as an "egregious ceasefire violation," while Iran’s foreign ministry denounced the U.S. strikes as a breach of the truce and a threat to national sovereignty.
On Thursday night the IRGC reportedly fired warning missiles from Chamran Air Base in Bushehr, at several ships including American vessels that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's authorization. An American reconnaissance drone was also reportedly shot down over the coastal city of Jam, as Iranian officials claimed a "hostile aircraft" was destroyed, with a local official saying the city is back to normal. However according to CENTCOM, "No US aircraft were shot down. All US air assets are accounted for.
The incident occurred amid high-stakes peace negotiations aimed at ending the three-month war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil and LNG passes.
President Donald Trump stated the U.S. was "not satisfied" with the current deal progress, rejecting Iranian proposals for joint management of the strait with Oman, and imposing new sanctions on the Persian Gulf Strait Authority.
Meanwhile, Israel intensified airstrikes in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah, adding to regional instability as both sides accused each other of violating the fragile security arrangements. The Jewish state also carried out an assassination strike in Beirut targeting Ali al-Husni, the head of the missile force in the Imam Hossein Division a militia operating alongside Hezbollah.
Israeli officials are reportedly privately urging the Trump administration to abandon negotiations with Iran, assassinate Iran’s parliament speaker and lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and launch a new round of strikes targeting Iran’s oil infrastructure.
The Israelis reportedly believe renewed attacks could trigger economic collapse and eventually regime change, as the Jewish state works to undermine negotiations between the Trump administration and the Iranians.
Israeli officials fear that a negotiated settlement could leave Iran politically strengthened, preserve its regional influence, and cement its leverage over one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints.
