U.S. and Iran trade attacks with few signs of de-escalation

By AARON BOXERMAN, EUAN WARD, YAN ZHUANG and JOHN ISMAY

Iran and the United States traded new attacks and threats Sunday, the fourth straight day of hostilities, with little sign of a de-escalation that would get their 2-week-old ceasefire back on track.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement carried by Iranian state media that it had targeted a U.S. naval base in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait in retaliation for American attacks.

The governments of Kuwait and Bahrain said the attacks had not caused any casualties. There were also no reports of American casualties or of major impact or damage to U.S. assets, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations.

But the persistent attacks further eroded hopes for a speedy return to normalcy in the Middle East after the initial truce that the United States and Iran agreed to this month.

The new hostilities began Thursday, when Iran fired attack drones at a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials. American forces responded with a wave of attacks Friday, prompting drone strikes Saturday on another ship and on Bahrain, a U.S. ally, that were widely blamed on Iran.

Iranian officials have not claimed responsibility for attacking ships in the strait, which Iran was supposed to fully reopen as part of the ceasefire. But the attack came hours after Iran had warned ships that they could only travel through its waters; many had been using an alternate route along the coast of nearby Oman.

Iran argues that the agreement gives it substantial authority to control the waterway, which has served as a key source of Iranian leverage in the negotiations with the United States.

The U.S. military said that its latest attacks had hit air-defense sites and other military infrastructure. Iran’s state broadcaster reported explosions in three cities near the strait, and a U.S. official said that the U.S. airstrikes were more expansive than the previous day’s.

The United States and Iran have ramped up their rhetoric in recent days, accusing each other of violating the ceasefire. While both seem to be testing each other’s red lines and making threats, analysts say, neither seems eager to return to a full-blown war.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump said in a bellicose message on social media that the United States would annihilate Iran if it were forced to return to war. The Revolutionary Guard said in a statement Sunday that U.S. bases in the region “will be experiencing hell during these days.”

Here’s what else we’re covering:

— Strait of Hormuz: Strikes on ships are likely to deter vessels from passing through the waterway, which Iran had agreed to fully reopen as part of the ceasefire with the United States.

— Lebanon fighting: The Israeli military said Sunday that a soldier was killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces are battling with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. The Trump administration’s ceasefire with Iran was supposed to include an end to the fighting in Lebanon, but clashes there have continued. Israeli forces conducted strikes in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to Lebanese state media.