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Iran said Thursday it targeted a U.S. airbase in response to new American strikes, calling the attacks a “blatant violation” of both the fragile ceasefire between the two countries and international law.
The latest military exchange raised additional concerns about diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy corridor disrupted by the fighting.
Hours earlier, President Donald Trump indicated that negotiations with Iran remained far from complete and said he would not be pressured by global economic concerns or the approaching midterm elections.
Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the U.S.-Israeli attacks earlier this year has contributed to rising global prices for oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other goods.
During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the president also warned Oman against cooperating with Iran in controlling the waterway.
“Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up,” President Trump said before adding, “They understand that. They’ll be fine.”
The latest exchange began when U.S. forces shot down four Iranian attack drones and struck a drone control station near Bandar Abbas that American officials said posed a threat to U.S. troops and commercial shipping.
A U.S. official said the strikes were limited and defensive in nature and did not represent a return to broader combat operations. Iranian media reported that several American ships had attempted to pass through the strait without authorization.
It marked the second time in three days that the United States carried out what it described as defensive strikes against Iranian targets. The official said a fifth Iranian drone was preparing to launch from the targeted control site when the strike occurred.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps later announced that “the U.S. air base identified as the source of the attack was targeted” at approximately 4:50 a.m. local time, according to statements carried by Iranian state-linked media outlets.
There was no immediate confirmation from the United States that one of its bases had been attacked. However, Kuwait said its air defense systems were responding to “hostile missile and drone threats,” and that explosion sounds were linked to interception operations.
Kuwait hosts American military facilities that have previously been targeted by Iran and allied groups during the conflict.
