US bombs Iranian military sites and Kuwait is hit by drone and missile
fire
[June 01, 2026]
By JON GAMBRELL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — 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 then said it launched a strike of its own,
and Kuwait reported incoming fire.
The nominal ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. has been repeatedly
tested with such back-and-forth attacks, even as officials from both
countries try 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.
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.
Fighting has also escalated between Israel and the Lebanese militant
group Hezbollah, despite their nominal ceasefire. 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.
US military attacks Iran
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.
“The measured and deliberate strikes occurred ... in response to
aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1
drone that was operating over international waters,” Central Command
said.
“U.S. 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.”
Kuwait reports incoming 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. In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA
news agency, the Guard said that U.S. forces had targeted a
telecommunications tower.
Kuwait is home to U.S. Army Central, the Mideast forward command for the
Army. While the U.S. Air Force no longer flies the MQ-1 Predator, the
U.S. Army still does.
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. President Donald Trump overlaid on a “closed” Strait of
Hormuz with the caption: “Until the last American soldier leaves the
region.”
[to top of second column]
|
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. (AP
Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Attacks rattle ceasefire talks
The attacks represent the latest escalation between the U.S. and
Iran. Over the weekend, the U.S. fired a missile into the engine
room of a Gambia-flagged cargo ship trying to break its blockade of
Iranian ports.
A trickle of ships has made it out of the strait, through which a
fifth of all traded oil and natural gas once passed, but pressure
continues on global energy supplies, as well as on chemical
fertilizer. That has led to fears of food shortages. The Gulf region
produces 30% of globally traded chemical fertilizers.
Trump met with advisers on Friday but has yet to decide on whether
to move ahead with a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the
strait. Iran has said the deal had not been finalized.
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 enough
highly enriched uranium 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.
“Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the
U.S.A. and those that are with us,” he wrote. “Just sit back and
relax, it will all work out well in the end — It always does!”
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
