US says Iran radar sites struck and drones intercepted, in latest threat to fragile ceasefire

The US military said it shot down four Iranian drones that were launched toward the strait of Hormuz and struck coastal surveillance radar sites in response. “The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” US central command (Centcom) said on social media. The military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s chokehold on the strait – a crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments – which has sent energy prices spiking. It was the latest in a series of back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous ceasefire in the war and harmed efforts to reach a deal to extend the truce. Earlier this week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport , killing one person, wounding dozens and briefly closing the airfield. Despite the attacks raising new concerns that the ceasefire could collapse, US president Donald Trump told reporters on Friday “the situation with Iran seems to be going quite well”. “We’re going to come out of Iran very quickly and it’s going to be very strong one way or the other, whether it’s a piece of paper or the very tough way,” Trump said at an event with farmers in Wisconsin. …