US forces shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, with US Central Command saying they posed a threat to international maritime traffic in the shipping lane.
The interceptions came a day after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched attacks on a US airbase and facilities linked to the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, in response to what it called "American hostilities”. The US military said it had intercepted all incoming attacks.
The IRGC warned any repeat would not be met with a "limited response” and said the "aggressor enemy” would bear responsibility for consequences, including "the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz” to oil and gas exports.
US Central Command said seven ballistic missiles had been launched towards Kuwait and Bahrain the night before, of which six were intercepted and the seventh failed to reach its target.
Since US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February triggered the conflict, the Gulf has settled into a cycle of drone threats, maritime pressure and calibrated retaliation – despite a ceasefire in place since April 8.
Diplomatic channels remain active but strained, with Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Sunday. Iranian media said Mr Naqvi delivered a special message from Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif intended for Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"This message, I believe, is an important message. I hope that everything goes well and comes to a good end,” Mr Naqvi said, reflecting the cautious tone surrounding Pakistan's role as a back-channel intermediary between Tehran and Washington.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said that senior officials were fully aligned on Tehran's negotiating strategy, dismissing reports of internal differences over proposals under discussion.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has had a specific strategy in the negotiations, and all officials have pursued it with complete co-ordination,” he said. There were no disagreements over negotiating texts or proposals, he added.
Frozen assets
The mediation effort is unfolding against a backdrop of unresolved core disputes, particularly the estimated $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, which remain central to negotiations over any durable ceasefire.
Tehran has repeatedly linked progress to sanctions relief and the release of those funds, while Washington has so far resisted making full concessions.
The gap has been widened by reports that US officials are considering using confiscated Iranian assets to help Gulf allies repair infrastructure damaged in attacks attributed to Tehran.
The proposal would effectively require Iran to fund the consequences of its actions rather than regain access to the funds – a condition Iranian officials have flatly rejected. Negotiators are nevertheless trying to preserve the fragile truce.
In a separate development, the Israeli military said it had intercepted two projectiles launched from Lebanon. Later on Sunday, it urged residents of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre and nearby areas, including the Al Bass and Zuqq Al Mufdi camps, to leave immediately and move north of the Zahrani River. The military accused Hezbollah of breaching the ceasefire agreement and said it would continue operations against the group.
On Saturday, three Lebanese soldiers, including two officers, were killed in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army said, in one of the deadliest single attacks on the country's armed forces since the war began.
Hezbollah said its fighters had shelled Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and carried out a drone strike on an Israeli military vehicle in Khiam, as cross-border hostilities continue with no sign of abating.
Iran has also escalated a separate diplomatic dispute, accusing the US of denying visas to members of its World Cup-bound football delegation and calling the move "deliberate and discriminatory treatment". Tehran has urged Fifa to intervene, arguing that Washington is politicising sport.
