Ceasefire Under Strain As Iran, US and Israel Launch Fresh Strikes
Iran says it targeted an American air base in the Middle East as a “serious warning” to Washington after U.S. forces carried out new “defensive” strikes on southern Iran overnight.
Meanwhile, Israel entered into a third day of strikes against Iran-backed militant and political group Hezbollah in Lebanon, extending strikes to the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon.
The Iranian military did not specify which American airbase had come under fire, but Kuwait’s army said it was intercepting “hostile and missile drone attacks” in the early hours of Thursday.
The U.S. has multiple military sites in the Gulf state, including the Ali Al-Salem Air Base previously targeted by Tehran.
A U.S. official told Newsweek the U.S. struck an Iranian ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas after Iran launched four attack drones that “posed a threat” in the Strait of Hormuz, the international shipping lane that has been controlled by Iran for nearly three months.
Iran had been preparing to launch a fifth drone at the time of the American strikes, the official said.
Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed a U.S. attack near an airport in Bandar Abbas and said it retaliated by attacking an American airbase shortly before 5 a.m. Thursday local time.
“This response is a serious warning so that the enemy knows that aggression will not go unanswered, and if it is repeated, our response will be more decisive,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iranian state media.
The exchange of attacks put further pressure on ongoing negotiations for a peace deal which U.S. President Donald Trump had said was “largely negotiated” earlier this week.
However hardliners on both sides have downplayed progress.
The new strikes also test the fragile ceasefire between Tehran and Washington that has been in place since April 8. While there have been small skirmishes from both sides, this past week’s strikes have marked an escalation in hostilities.
An initial 45-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel was agreed in mid-April, and was extended this month despite ongoing attacks over the border.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 2:02 AM.