US and Iran exchange strikes, accuse each other of threatening ceasefire

The US military has carried out further strikes on a number of targets in Iran, a day after a previous strike on Iran, which it said was in response to a drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Guardian reports.

US Central Command said the strikes were "a direct response to Iran's ongoing aggression against merchant shipping" and that "Iran's military surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defence facilities, drone depots and minefields" were targeted in the response.

In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early Sunday that it had carried out a joint missile and drone strike targeting eight US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.

In a statement, the IRGC vowed that any further aggression would be met with a "crushing response" and warned that violating the ceasefire would lead to a "complete halt to all diplomatic processes."

Both Bahrain and Kuwait condemned the Iranian attacks, although it was not clear what, if anything, was hit.

The escalation comes as Washington and Tehran are in talks to sign a memorandum of understanding to end the war that has sent global oil prices soaring and killed civilians.

The exchange of strikes highlighted the fragility of the peace process, with both sides accusing each other of violating an interim agreement signed less than two weeks ago. The text of the agreement, signed by the United States and Iran, states that the two countries and their allies "shall not initiate any war or military operation against each other and shall refrain from the threat or use of force against each other."

The US military said earlier it had carried out another strike on Iran, hours after a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important energy shipping route, which Iran has almost completely blocked for much of the conflict.War in Iran. Illustrative image: Depositphotos

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