The United States and Iran exchanged attacks early Saturday local time, days after issuing conflicting messages on the status of ceasefire talks.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, fighting continues to intensify between Israeli forces and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire agreed between Israel and the Lebanese government.
What happened in this area:
Strait of Hormuz: The United States intercepted a wave of missiles and drones launched by Iran toward the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf region. According to U.S. Central Command, the U.S. military shot down four attack drones and also attacked an Iranian coastal surveillance radar facility. Iran fired several shots as a “warning” near the Strait of Hormuz, which the semi-official Mehr news agency reported “may have been related” to the repositioning of US naval vessels in the area.
Gulf States: Sirens were sounded in Kuwait and Bahrain early Saturday morning. Kuwait’s military said it was responding to missile and drone threats, and Bahrain called on residents to evacuate.
Lebanon: More than 20 people were killed in strikes in southern Lebanon on Friday, according to CNN’s death toll, reported by the state news agency.
Other headings:
Top diplomat hits back: Iran’s foreign minister pushed back on remarks made by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in a CNN interview that Iran is using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in its war with the United States and Israel. “Mr. President, please save Lebanon from its true enemy,” Abbas Araghchi said, in an apparent reference to Israel.
War schedule: U.S. President Donald Trump said the Iran war is “moving very quickly” despite an originally stated four to six week timetable. “We’re three months away. Vietnam has been going on for 19 years. We’re in the third month,” he told NBC News.
Nuclear lab visit: President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with a team of experts at a national laboratory in Tennessee on Thursday, U.S. officials said, as the U.S. works towards nuclear negotiations with Iran. Scott Recker, deputy director of the nuclear material security program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, explained that the lab has a history of removing highly enriched uranium.
CNN’s Laura Sherman, Eyad Kurdi, Kareem El Damanhoury, Alena Fayaz, Mitchell McCluskey, Kit Maher, Jennifer Hansler and Zachary Cohen contributed reporting.
