Iran strikes US base as talks strain

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a US-linked airbase after American strikes hit military sites on Iran’s Gulf coast, adding fresh pressure to a fragile ceasefire that has failed to stop intermittent exchanges between Washington and Tehran.

The latest confrontation followed US military strikes on radar, drone control and launch facilities near Qeshm Island and Goruk after the downing of an American MQ-1 drone over international waters. US forces later intercepted Iranian missiles fired towards bases housing American troops in Kuwait, with no American casualties reported.

The exchange has complicated negotiations aimed at ending a three-month-old war that has drawn in US forces, Iran, Israel, Hezbollah and Gulf states hosting Western military assets. A ceasefire that took effect in early April has reduced the tempo of direct attacks but has not eliminated retaliatory strikes, maritime threats or cross-border fire linked to the wider conflict.

President Donald Trump sought to project confidence, saying Iran “really wants to make a deal” and that any agreement would be favourable to the United States and its allies. He also criticised domestic opponents of his approach, urging them to “sit back and relax” and saying the process would “work out well in the end”.

Tehran’s position remains more conditional. Iranian officials have tied any durable settlement to developments beyond the US-Iran track, including fighting in Lebanon and pressure on allied groups across the region. Iran has accused Washington of violating the spirit of the ceasefire by striking its territory while also holding the US responsible for Israeli military actions that Tehran says threaten any diplomatic outcome.

Kuwait, which hosts US Army Central and key American military facilities, has again found itself exposed to the conflict’s spillover. Air defence systems were activated after missile and drone threats were detected, and authorities said hostile projectiles were intercepted. The attacks have sharpened concerns among Gulf governments that even limited US-Iran exchanges could endanger civilian aviation, energy infrastructure and shipping routes.

The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the risk calculation. Qeshm Island sits near one of the world’s most important energy corridors, through which a substantial share of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade passes. Even short-lived disruptions around the waterway can affect insurance costs, tanker routes and crude prices, particularly when military activity involves drones, missiles and radar systems near coastal launch zones.

The US has framed its strikes as defensive and proportionate, arguing that Iran’s actions placed American personnel and regional partners at risk. Tehran has presented its response as retaliation for attacks on its territory, while the Revolutionary Guards have warned that further US action could draw stronger countermeasures.

The pattern has become familiar since the April ceasefire: one side reports a military provocation, the other launches a limited response, and both then return to diplomatic messaging while warning against escalation. A similar exchange took place last Thursday, when Iran said it targeted a US airbase after an American strike near Bandar Abbas. The repetition has raised questions over whether the ceasefire is functioning as a pause in the war or merely as a framework for controlled confrontation.

Regional diplomacy has grown more difficult as the conflict overlaps with renewed fighting involving Israel and Hezbollah. Washington has tried to separate the nuclear and security negotiations with Tehran from the Lebanon front, but Iran has resisted that compartmentalisation. The result is a negotiation process vulnerable to battlefield developments outside the direct US-Iran channel.

Trump’s public optimism suggests the White House still sees room for a deal, possibly within days if back-channel talks produce language acceptable to both sides. The administration is under pressure to prevent Iran from rebuilding military and nuclear-linked capabilities while avoiding a broader war that could strain US deployments and unsettle global energy markets.