US, Iran Exchange Military Strikes, Further Imperiling Shaky Cease-Fire

00:37 6.6.2026

The US military and Iranian forces exchanged tit-for-tat strikes early on June 6, further endangering the shaky cease-fire as peace negotiations appear to be at an impasse.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said ⁠it hit Iranian coastal radar stations in “self-defense” strikes hours after Tehran launched attack drones toward the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) then retaliated for those strikes by firing at least seven ballistic missiles toward US-linked sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.

“Moments ago, CENTCOM forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz,” Central Command, which is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, wrote on X.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic. US forces subsequently struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island to defend against further attacks,” it said.

“American forces remain vigilant and postured to respond to unjustified Iranian aggression in self-defense,” it added.

The US operation marks at least the fourth publicly announced US “self-defense” strike against Iranian targets since the cease-fire took effect in early April.

Following the latest strike, Iran’s powerful IRGC said it targeted US bases in the region with missiles in retaliation. Kuwaiti authorities reported incoming projectiles, while air raid sirens were blaring early on June 6 in nearby Bahrain.

CENTCOM said initial assessments indicate its forces intercepted six Iranian ballistic missiles fired toward Kuwait and Bahrain and that a seventh one did not reach its target. It said the likely target in Bahrain, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters, did not suffer any damages.

CNN earlier quoted an unnamed US official as saying Iran had first launched multiple drones toward the Strait of Hormuz. US officials suspect the drones were targeting commercial vessels transiting regional waters or US forces operating in the area, the official told CNN.

Iran’s Mehr news agency said the launches were warning shots fired near the strait, adding that they were most likely linked to movement of US ships around the crucial waterway.

Trump: Iran Missile Stock Down To 21-22 Percent

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told NBC news that Tehran likely retains 21-22 percent of its prewar missile stock. Trump told NBC news that Iran has “some missiles, they have ‌some drones. I would say percentage wise, maybe 21-22 percents of their missiles. It’s a lot ‌of missiles, but it’s ⁠not what ‌it was when we first attacked.”

Separately, during a visit to Wisconsin to campaign for Republican candidates, Trump told farmers worried about rising prices that the war could be ending soon. Trump has often expressed optimism about an end to the war, only to have peace talks break up with little progress.

“We’re going to come out of Iran very quickly, and it’s going to be strong one way or the other,” Trump told a roundtable event in Chippewa Falls.

“Your fertilizer ⁠prices are going to go way down, just like they ‌were four months ago.”

With reporting by Washington correspondent Alex Raufoglu, Radio Farda, CNN, and Reuters

Source: blockade-gulf-israel/33640284.html?lbis=458395

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