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 response to what it called "American hostilities”.
The US military said it had intercepted all incoming attacks, but 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” for oil and gas exports.
US Central Command said seven ballistic missiles had been launched towards Kuwait and Bahrain the night before, adding that six were intercepted and the seventh did not reach its target.
Since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran late in February that triggered the war, the Gulf has settled into a cycle of drone threats, maritime pressure and calibrated retaliation – despite a ceasefire that has been in place since April 8.
Diplomatic channels remain active but strained, with Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi travelling to Tehran on Saturday carrying what he called a "special and important message” from Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Iran's supreme leader.
"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 attempt to act 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.
Core disputes
That 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’s leadership has repeatedly linked progress to sanctions relief and asset unfreezing, while Washington has so far resisted making full concessions.
At the same time, reports emerged that US officials are considering using assets confiscated from Iran to help Gulf allies repair damage attributed to Iranian attacks.
The proposal risks hardening positions further at a moment when negotiators are still trying to preserve a fragile post-April truce.
Elsewhere, the regional conflict continues to rumble on, with the Israeli military reporting it had intercepted two projectiles launched from Lebanon.
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 loitering drone strike on an Israeli military vehicle in Khiam, as cross-border hostilities show no signs 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 world football’s governing body Fifa to intervene, arguing that Washington is injecting political disputes into sport.
