US and Iran Trade Fresh Strikes Overnight; Kuwait Targeted by Seven Iranian Missiles
US and Iranian forces traded attacks overnight Friday into Saturday in the worst flare-up of tensions since the fragile ceasefire began in early April. Kuwait says it was targeted by seven Iranian missiles overnight. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed. The exchange directly compromises the proposed US-Iran framework deal that President Donald Trump’s envoys had reached with Iranian negotiators earlier in the week and that Trump separately said he was seeking amendments to. Either side can still walk the framework back from the brink.
The exchange follows: Trump’s Saturday-week-ago “tougher terms” signal seeking amendments to the draft; Iran’s chief negotiator framing the US as “not to be trusted”; the IRGC deputy “continue war” signal; and the Tasnim “suspended indirect talks” announcement Monday. CENTCOM has been issuing “self-defence” framing for US strikes throughout the war. The Kuwait strike is the third IRGC attack on the country in a fortnight; Kuwait condemned the “repeated” Iranian attacks earlier in the week. The overnight escalation is the structural counter to the modest Friday de-escalation around Putin’s relatively measured SPIEF tone. Brent crude is trading above $96 a barrel on the renewed flare-up.