US strikes Iranian radar sites after drone intercepts over Strait of Hormuz, as Trump estimates Tehran retains a fifth of its missiles

Drone intercepts and US strikes

US Central Command said it shot down four Iranian attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz that posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic. Hours later, American forces struck Iranian surveillance radar sites in the coastal town of Goruk and on Qeshm Island in what Centcom described as an act of self-defence against further attacks. The number of radar installations hit was not disclosed.

Kuwait also under fire

Kuwait's air defences intercepted rocket and drone attacks early Saturday, the state news agency KUNA reported. The General Staff said all explosions heard were the result of air-defence interceptions. On Wednesday, a drone struck Kuwait International Airport, killing at least one person and wounding dozens. Kuwait has accused Iran of repeated recent attacks on the oil-rich Gulf state.

Trump's missile arithmetic

In excerpts from an NBC "Meet the Press" interview, President Donald Trump estimated that Iran retains 21 to 22 percent of its missile stockpile after more than three months of war. "That's a lot of missiles, but it's not what it was when we first attacked," he said. Trump added that most Iranian drone factories, launch ramps and missile production sites had been destroyed. The figure is higher than the 18 to 19 percent he cited in early May; no explanation for the discrepancy was offered in the interview.

They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say percentage-wise maybe 21, 22 percent of their missiles. That's a lot of missiles, but it's not what it was when we launched our first attack.

Stalled negotiations and Iranian demands

Indirect talks between Washington and Tehran over an interim deal to end the war remain deadlocked. Mohsen Rezai, a former Revolutionary Guards commander and confidant of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN that Iran requires the release of $24 billion in frozen assets as a confidence-building measure. Tehran is also demanding access to frozen oil revenues, sanctions exemptions for crude exports, a lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports, and control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon a precondition for any peace agreement.

The negotiations are at an impasse, and Trump must break this impasse.

Rezai warned that Iran would expand the war beyond the Persian Gulf if the US attacks again. He also ruled out a meeting between Trump and the Supreme Leader, noting that Mojtaba's father Ali Khamenei and several family members were killed in the first-day US-Israeli strikes, and that Mojtaba himself was reportedly severely wounded.

A fragile truce

A ceasefire has been in place for nearly two months in the conflict that began on 28 February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Yet sporadic exchanges of fire have continued, straining efforts to extend the truce. Trump, facing domestic pressure over rising petrol prices, told reporters the situation with Iran "seems to be going pretty well" and insisted his administration was on track to end the unpopular war. "We're going to win either way," he said on Thursday.