Missile defense and maritime security collided again in the tense waters near the Strait of Hormuz after the United States military said it struck Iranian radar sites along Iran’s southern coast — a fresh escalation that could test a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East war.
US Central Command said in a statement that its forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz, then attacked Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in the city of Goruk and on Qeshm Island.
“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic”, while the strikes on radar installations “defend against further attacks”, the statement said.
A ceasefire has been in place between the United States and Iran since 8 April, but subsequent talks to try to put a more permanent end to the conflict have so far been unsuccessful.
Donald Trump acknowledged in an interview that Iran still has war-fighting capacity
US President Donald Trump is under pressure find a way out of the war, which has delivered a shock to markets and proven unpopular at home as midterm elections loom.
Mr Trump acknowledged in an interview with NBC Newslast night that Iran still has war-fighting capacity.
“They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say, percentage wise, maybe 21%, 22% of their missiles,” Mr Trump said.
Iran’s military said it had fired “warning missiles” at two US destroyers in the Gulf of Oman — a claim promptly denied by the US military.
Two days earlier, Kuwait said it had intercepted 30 ballistic missiles fired as part of “heinous Iranian aggression”.
