NPR
U.S. bombs Iranian military sites and Kuwait is hit by drone and missile fire
+790 words added -488 words removed
− By
The Associated Press
Demonstrators wave Iranian flags and flags of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group during a pro-government gathering at Islamic Revolution Square in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, May 30, 2026.
+ By
The Associated Press
People paddle along the shoreline as cargo ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Monday.
− AP Photo/AP hide caption
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States bombed Iranian radar and drone control sites in Iran after Tehran shot down an American MQ-1 Predator drone this weekend, the American military said Monday.
+ Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/AP hide caption
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States said Monday that it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran after Tehran shot down an American drone over the weekend.
− Iran acknowledged launching a retaliatory strike, while Kuwait said it was intercepting incoming drone and missile fire.
+ Iran then said it targeted American soldiers in Kuwait with missiles, which the U.S. says it shot down.
− Middle East Israel seizes medieval castle as it expands major offensive in southern Lebanon The dueling attacks reflect the fragility of a weekslong ceasefire in the Iran war, which has seen repeated attacks even as American and Iranian officials try to negotiate a deal to extend it.
+ The nominal ceasefire between Iran and the U.S.
− Iran has maintained its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in the meantime, disrupting global energy supplies as a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.
+ has been repeatedly tested with back-and-forth attacks, though officials from both countries are still trying to negotiate an end to the war. It's not clear how close they are to a deal — and there is always the risk that an attack could derail those talks.
− Meanwhile, fighting continues to escalate as Israel extends its occupation of Lebanon beyond the Litani River and as the militant group Hezbollah continues to launch drones into Israel.
+ Middle East Israel seizes a medieval castle as it expands major offensive in southern Lebanon In the meantime, Iran has maintained its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy supplies and driving up the price of fuel around the world, with far-reaching consequences. A cargo ship came under attack off Iraq Monday afternoon, the British military said.
− The U.S.
+ Fighting has also escalated between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, despite their nominal ceasefire.
− military's Central Command said it carried out the strikes in Iran on Saturday and Sunday around the city of Geruk and on Qeshm Island.
+ Israel has extended its occupation deep into Lebanon, and Hezbollah — which joined the war in support of its main backer, Iran — continues to launch drones into Israel.
+ The fighting in Lebanon could threaten the emerging deal to extend the Iran war ceasefire. Tehran wants any agreement to include Lebanon. As tensions rose Monday between Israel and Hezbollah, Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said on X Monday that Iran's patience "has its limits."
The U.S. military's Central Command said it carried out the strikes in Iran on Saturday and Sunday around the city of Geruk and on Qeshm Island, hitting air defenses, a ground control station and two attack drones it said threatened ships in the region.
− "U.S.
+ Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is at a trickle compared to before the war, with ship owners deterred by the risk of an Iranian attack.
− fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters."
The Predator has been phased out of service by the U.S.
+ Only 36 ships transited the waterway in the seven days leading up to to Friday, a third of them carrying crude oil or petroleum products, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence, which counts only ships big enough to carry globally significant amounts of oil or cargo.
− Air Force, which now flies the MQ-9 Reaper, though the U.S.
+ That compares to an average of more than 130 ships per day before the war began.
A fifth of all the world's traded oil and natural gas once passed through the strait.
− Army still flies the Predator.
+ Its closure has put pressure not only on energy supplies but on chemical fertilizer, generating fears of food shortages.
− The U.S. military said no American troops were hurt in the attacks.
+ The Gulf region produces 30% of globally traded chemical fertilizers.
− Kuwait meanwhile said its air defenses had opened fire early Monday morning to intercept incoming drone and missile fire.
+ Kuwait said its air defenses opened fire early Monday morning to intercept incoming drone and missile fire.
Around the same time, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it responded to an American attack without saying where, likely referring to the attack on Kuwait.
− Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency that U.S.
+ In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, the Guard said that U.S.
− The Guard said it responded with an attack without saying where, likely referring to the attack on Kuwait.
+ Kuwait is home to U.S.
− The country is home to U.S.
− Iranian state television later shared footage of the ballistic missile launch, including a close-up showing a sticker on its body depicting a bruised U.S.
+ Iranian state television shared footage of the ballistic missile launch, including a close-up showing a sticker on its body depicting a bruised U.S.
− President Donald Trump overlaid on a "closed" Strait of Hormuz with the caption: "Until the last American soldier leaves the region."
The attacks represent the latest escalation between the U.S.
+ President Donald Trump overlaid on a "closed" Strait of Hormuz with the caption: "Until the last American soldier leaves the region."
Central Command said U.S.
− and Iran, even as both have insisted they are continuing to negotiate, particularly over Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
+ forces shot down two ballistic missiles Iran launched toward bases home to American troops.
+ No Americans were hurt, it added.
− A trickle of ships have made it out of the strait, but pressure continues on global energy supplies, as well as chemical fertilizer which has led to fears of food shortages.
+ On Monday, a cargo ship off Umm Qasr, Iraq, was struck by a projectile that caused a "large explosion," the British military said.
− The Gulf region produces 30% of globally traded chemical fertilizers.
+ It offered no other details, and no one claimed the attack. Iran previously has attacked ships off Iraq.
− Trump expressed optimism about the talks in a post on his Truth Social platform early Monday in Washington, mocking critics without addressing the ongoing crossfire.
+ The U.S. and Israel launched the war with strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Trump has offered shifting goals for the conflict, although preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon is among them. Iran has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though it has highly enriched uranium that could be made weapons-grade. Iran has enough of the material to build several nuclear weapons, should it choose to do so.
+ U.S. Vice President JD Vance suggested last week that negotiators are trying to strike general terms on Iran's nuclear program, with the specifics to be hammered out in the ensuing talks.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday again accused the U.S. of "constantly" changing its positions.
"From the beginning, we knew — and we continue to know — that we are negotiating in an atmosphere of mistrust," Baghaei told journalists.
Trump expressed optimism about the talks in a post on his Truth Social platform early Monday in Washington.