The United States said on Saturday it has shot down two Iranian attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz after they were deemed a threat to international shipping, in the latest sign of tensions testing a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran as talks to reach a peace deal to end the war drags on.
In a statement, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces intercepted the one-way attack drones in the strategically important waterway. "Earlier today, U.S. forces in the Middle East shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said.
It added that US forces remained "postured and ready to continue defending against Iranian aggression".
This comes a day after the United States says it downed multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones that were launched towards the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf.
According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), seven ballistic missiles were fired towards Kuwait and Bahrain late on Friday night, hours after CENTCOM shot down four Iranian attack drones that were launched towards the Strait of Hormuz. It added that six of the missiles were intercepted, and the seventh did not reach its target.
Kuwait and Bahrain condemned the Iranian missile and drone strikes, calling them a violation of their sovereignty and a threat to regional security. Egypt, Jordan and Qatar also issued condemnations on Saturday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it carried out attacks targeting US bases in the region in retaliation for earlier US strikes. The US military claimed it hit Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced US attacks as a “flagrant” violation of the ceasefire that has been in place since April, saying it showed the US “not only lacks the will to reduce tensions”, but “seriously endangers the security of the region”.
Tehran also said the US bears responsibility for “all the effects and consequences of these illegal actions, as well as any possible escalation of tension”.
The US military, for its part, said it attacked Iranian radar sites to “defend against further attacks” after the Iranian drones fired towards the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s IRGC claimed the clash started when the US military attempted to “illegally” escort oil tankers through the waterway, which Iran has largely closed off during the war.
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