United States forces shot down four Iranian drones and bombed a ground control station near Bandar Abbas early Thursday, triggering retaliatory strikes by Tehran against an American base that Kuwaiti officials said targeted their territory. The exchange is the most serious breach of the fragile ceasefire in effect since April 8. Brent crude jumped to $96.13 a barrel on the news.
Kuwait's military announced Thursday it was facing "attacks carried out by missiles and drones," a statement that landed hours after Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed they had targeted an American base in retaliation for the overnight US strikes. The Guards did not name the base. Kuwait's armed forces did not specify the origin of the projectiles or whether they caused casualties.
The US official who confirmed the American strikes, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters the four drones posed a "threat around the Strait of Hormuz" and that a fifth was being prepared for launch from a ground station at Bandar Abbas. "These actions were measured, solely defensive, and conducted with the intent of maintaining the ceasefire," the official said. Iranian state media had earlier reported three large explosions near Bandar Abbas, a strategic port city on the Strait of Hormuz, around 1:30 a.m. local time Thursday. The timing matched the US account.
The Revolutionary Guards' statement, broadcast on state television, confirmed the reprisal strike but offered no further details on the target. The Strait of Hormuz remains locked down by Iran. On Thursday, Iranian forces fired warning shots at four vessels attempting to transit the waterway, state television reported, without identifying the ships' type or nationality.
A fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through that tight spot. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas responded bluntly. It is in "nobody's" interest for the war to continue, she said.
Her statement underscored the widening economic alarm. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose nearly 2% in early Asian trading to $96.13 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate gained 1.75% to $90.23.
The ceasefire itself is barely holding. It took effect April 8 after more than a month of joint Israeli-American strikes that killed thousands, according to regional tallies. Since then, negotiations between Washington and Tehran have been "laborious," as one European diplomat described them to Agence France-Presse.
The core dispute remains Iran's nuclear program and the status of its highly enriched uranium stockpile. Wednesday, President Donald Trump raised the stakes again. Iran "really wants to make a deal," he said. "They're not there yet.
We're not satisfied but we will be eventually... Or we'll just have to finish the job." The language left little room for diplomatic ambiguity. Behind the scenes, the two sides are trading incompatible proposals.
Iranian television described a 14-point framework agreement that would prioritize ending the war "on all fronts," including Lebanon. The White House called that framework "a complete fabrication."
The Iranian version, as reported by the Isna news agency, includes a US commitment to lift its blockade of Iranian ports in exchange for restoring commercial traffic through Hormuz. Tehran is also seeking the release of $24 billion in frozen overseas assets, with half made available immediately upon signing the protocol. That money is one of the main sticking points.
The other is nuclear. Iran wants to address its atomic program in a second phase of talks. The United States demands the destruction of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium upfront.
Neither side has budged. Wednesday, the US Treasury announced sanctions against Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the new agency Tehran created to collect transit fees from ships passing through Hormuz. The move signaled Washington has no intention of easing economic pressure while the waterway remains closed.
In Iran, the war's toll is measured in daily fear. Internet access was partially restored this week after a nearly three-month blackout, but connections remain erratic. Mobile data is still largely cut.
Many websites are filtered. Messaging services are hard to reach. "It's not happiness or joy I feel," Bahareh, a 32-year-old nutritionist in Tehran, told AFP. "I just feel like we've gone from the worst to the bad." Amir, a 27-year-old software developer in the capital, described a city holding its breath. "Every day we ask ourselves: 'Will there be missile strikes tonight?'"
The war has also bled into Lebanon, where a separate ceasefire has been in effect since April 17. That truce is equally fragile. The Israeli military announced Thursday it had struck Hezbollah targets in Tyre, in southern Lebanon, a day after warning it considered all territory south of the Zahrani River a "combat zone." The river flows roughly 40 kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border.
The dual ceasefires — one with Iran, one in Lebanon — are now both under active strain. Military action on Thursday linked the two theaters directly: US strikes on Iranian soil, Iranian retaliation against a base in Kuwait, and Israeli operations against Iranian-backed Hezbollah all unfolded within the same 24-hour window. Why It Matters: The Strait of Hormuz closure has already rattled global energy markets.
Every day the waterway stays shut, an estimated 20 million barrels of oil equivalent are rerouted at higher cost. A sustained disruption would push Brent above $100 and tip several European and Asian economies toward recession. For American families, the effect shows up at the gas pump within weeks.
The economic toll extends beyond oil. Shipping insurance rates for Gulf voyages have spiked. Some Asian refiners are already drawing down strategic reserves.
The last time Hormuz faced a comparable threat was the 1980s Tanker War, when Iran and Iraq targeted commercial vessels. That conflict dragged on for years. What this actually means for your family: higher gasoline prices, higher heating costs next winter, and higher prices for goods that travel by ship — which is most of what you buy.
The policy says one thing. The reality says another. Both sides claim victory.
Here are the numbers: four drones downed, one ground station destroyed, an unspecified number of missiles and drones fired at a base in Kuwait, and oil up nearly two dollars a barrel in a single session. The ceasefire is not dead. But it is bleeding.
Key takeaways: - The US and Iran exchanged direct military strikes for the first time since the April 8 ceasefire, with Kuwait reporting missile and drone attacks on its territory. - Iran's Strait of Hormuz closure continues to choke global oil flows, pushing Brent crude to $96.13 and threatening a sustained energy price shock. - Negotiations remain deadlocked over $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets and the fate of Tehran's highly enriched uranium stockpile. - Internet access in Iran has partially returned after three months, but residents describe living under constant fear of nightly missile strikes. What comes next: All eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz. If Iran follows through on warning shots with actual ship seizures or mining, the US Navy faces an immediate escalation decision.
Diplomatically, the 14-point framework Tehran claims is close to completion has been dismissed by Washington as fiction — meaning the two sides are not even negotiating from the same text. The next 48 hours will show whether Thursday's strikes were an isolated flare-up or the start of a broader unraveling of the truce.
Key Takeaways
— - The US and Iran exchanged direct military strikes for the first time since the April 8 ceasefire, with Kuwait reporting missile and drone attacks on its territory.
— - Iran's Strait of Hormuz closure continues to choke global oil flows, pushing Brent crude to $96.13 and threatening a sustained energy price shock.
— - Negotiations remain deadlocked over $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets and the fate of Tehran's highly enriched uranium stockpile.
— - Internet access in Iran has partially returned after three months, but residents describe living under constant fear of nightly missile strikes.
Source: France 24
