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Kuwait, a close ally of the U.S., repeatedly came under fire
from Iran and Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq during the
war.
The announcement comes as the Middle East is on the edge. U.S.
President Donald Trump has expressed confidence that his
administration is making headway in negotiations with Iran to
end the war, but the talks remain in flux.
Trump is looking for an agreement that will reopen the Strait of
Hormuz — through which about a fifth of all traded oil and
natural gas once passed. He is also seeking to get Iran to give
up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium while the Islamic
Republic wants economic sanctions to be lifted and frozen assets
to be released to aid its shattered economy. The war has been
unpopular in the U.S., and Iran's closure of the strait has sent
oil prices skyrocketing, driving up fuel prices around the
world.
As the negotiations continue, there have been several challenges
to the ceasefire in recent days.
On Monday, the U.S. said it conducted what the Pentagon called
“defensive” strikes on missile launch sites and minelaying boats
in southern Iran. U.S. officials said late Wednesday in
Washington that forces launched more strikes on Iran, shooting
down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the
strait and hitting an Iranian ground control station in Bandar
Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.
The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke
on the condition of anonymity.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard via the state-run IRNA
news agency acknowledged the attack around Bandar Abbas
International Airport and said it launched its own retaliatory
attack on the air base that launched the assault.
It did not elaborate on the target and it wasn’t clear whether
that was the attack that Kuwait announced.
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Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin in Washington
contributed to this report.
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