CAIRO (AP) 鈥� Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait that were intercepted early Saturday, Bahrain鈥檚 government said, and called on Tehran to halt attacks on Gulf neighbors that test a fragile ceasefire in the .
Iran said that it targeted American military assets in both countries, after the U.S. attacked surveillance facilities on Qeshm Island and near Sirik that Iran said were used to protect borders and 鈥渆nsure the security of navigation in international waters.” Tehran called the attack a ceasefire violation.
Later Saturday, U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces had shot down two Iranian attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest exchanges came as the Trump administration to to end the war, which has strained the global economy and in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.
Pakistan鈥檚 interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, arrived in Iran on Saturday as part of mediation efforts.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is seeking to ratchet up economic pressure on Iran. The U.S. Treasury Department is considering allowing Gulf allies to tap into frozen Iranian assets to pay for damages they sustained in the war, according to a person familiar with Secretary Scott Bessent’s thinking who spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations.
Iran says it targeted US air base and Navy
The U.S. military said earlier that it had shot down several Iranian missiles and drones launched toward and Gulf Arab allies, and struck some of the Islamic Republic鈥檚 coastal surveillance radar sites in response.
鈥淭he attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,鈥� U.S. Central Command said.
Iran鈥檚 Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the Ali Al Salem air base, which hosts U.S. forces in Kuwait, and the U.S. Navy鈥檚 5th Fleet in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
The U.S. military said there were no reports of harm to U.S. personnel.
Earlier in the week, Iranian drones heavily at Kuwait鈥檚 main airport, killing one person and wounding dozens.
The U.S. military kept up its blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran鈥檚 grip on the strait, a crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments. Energy prices have spiked, for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party before the midterm congressional election.
Deals remain elusive
Trump increasingly . U.S. and Iranian negotiators a week ago to extend by 60 days and start a new round of talks . Trump, however, has called for unspecified changes, and Iranian officials have shown no public sign of agreeing to the deal.
The , where Israeli forces have seized large swaths of the south while saying it targets the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, also challenges efforts to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has demanded that any lasting truce extends to Lebanon.
The Trump administration has touted earlier in the week by the Lebanese government and Israel after U.S.-brokered talks in Washington. However, Hezbollah has rejected the agreement.
Ratcheting up financial pressure
Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former Iranian sanctions expert at the Treasury Department, said it’s significant that the U.S. is signaling it could allow Gulf countries to access some of the $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets stored abroad.
Iran had been seeking some of the funds as part of a deal, and rather than offering Tehran that concession, the U.S. is pressuring them to move quickly.
鈥淪o the U.S. government is saying: 鈥橦ey, not just that we鈥檙e not going to give you these funds. As a matter of fact, we鈥檙e going to take these funds from you, and we鈥檙e going to help Gulf states to take it,鈥� Maleki said.
Allowing Gulf states to use the frozen assets would also bolster U.S. ties there, he said. It would send a clear signal that America is sticking with its partners as they’ve sustained attacks and repercussions from the war.
However, Maleki said some Gulf states may be reluctant to use the funds out of concern that they could face retaliation from Iran for doing so.
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Michelle L. Price reported from Bridgewater, New Jersey. Munir Ahmed contributed to this report from Islamabad.
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