WorldIran launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic republic, and threatened a "complete halt" in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.Negotiations ongoing as Iran insists that it alone must govern Strait of HormuzThe Associated Press · Posted: Jun 28, 2026 8:37 AM EDT | Last Updated: 43 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Bahrain civil defence and rescue personnel work in a residential building, which according to the Bahraini Interior Ministry, was hit by an Iranian drone, in Muharraq, Bahrain, on Sunday. (Bahrain Police Media/Reuters)Iran launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic republic, and threatened a "complete halt" in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region and have imperiled negotiations for a lasting ceasefire. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman for both inbound and outbound traffic, setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran.The global community has long considered the strait an international passageway, despite its sitting in Iran and Oman's territorial waters. In recent days, Iran has twice attacked vessels going through a route on the Omani side of the strait backed by a United Nations agency. Iran insists that it alone must govern the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated the claim during a state visit to Iraq on Sunday."Any interference in this matter, any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and increase the level of tension, just as over the past two nights we witnessed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz that led to an increase in tension and confrontation," he said in Baghdad.A container ship and a cargo vessel are seen in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on June 17. Iran insists that it alone must govern the strait. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/The Associated Press)The United States and Iran are still debating the terms of an interim peace deal, including shipping arrangements through the strait, removing a U.S. blockade and sanctions and addressing the future of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under the memorandum of understanding signed earlier this month, the U.S. and Iran have 60 days to iron out the details.The strikes threaten to torpedo the deal before it can be finalized. Continued fighting in Lebanon, where an Israeli soldier was killed by Hezbollah fire early Sunday, has also threatened the agreement.Strikes target Gulf states hosting U.S. militaryThe Kuwaiti military said air defences intercepted incoming Iranian drones and missiles Sunday morning, just after the U.S. strikes.Kuwait, which hosts a major U.S. army base, said it had detected and intercepted two ballistic missiles and there were no reports of injuries or damage.Bahrain's Interior Ministry said the Iranian strikes damaged a residential building near the international airport and no one was killed. The ministry released photos of an eight-storey building, with the top floor destroyed, filled with rubble and its windows blown out. Smoke rises from a residential building, which according to the Bahraini Interior Ministry, was hit by an Iranian drone, in Muharraq, Bahrain, on Sunday. Iran launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic republic. (Bahrain Police Media/Reuters)Bahrain is home to the U.S. navy's 5th Fleet, whose base there came under repeated attack during the war. The damaged building on Sunday was not near the fleet's headquarters, in downtown Manama.Iran says it has launched retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases in Kuwait, BahrainU.S. strikes Iran in retaliation for attack on cargo ship in Strait of HormuzBahrain's Foreign Ministry denounced what it called "a dangerous escalation that reveals that what Tehran is doing is not a passing act, nor an isolated incident, but rather a deliberate approach and a systematic pattern of repeated aggression."Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for both attacks. Trump accuses Iran of violating ceasefireThe latest U.S. strikes came after the U.S. and Iran traded attacks earlier in the weekend.The U.S. military's Central Command said it struck Iranian military "surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities" on Sunday, following an attack on a ship at sea early Saturday morning. That ship, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, a key mediator between Iran and the U.S.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, speaks with Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah at a meeting with foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states in Manama, Bahrain, on Thursday. (Eric Lee/The Associated Press)In a social media post, Trump said the U.S. had "struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!" He warned of a point where the U.S. may no longer be able to be reasonable "and will be forced to militarily complete the job." "If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.The incident follows a similar back-and-forth that occurred just days prior, when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman on Thursday, and the U.S. military retaliated with strikes.Conflict continues in LebanonIran has consistently said the ceasefire must include a halt to fighting in Lebanon, where Israel has been battling the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. Days after the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran in February, Hezbollah began firing at Israel in solidarity with its Iranian allies. Israel responded with an invasion that has occupied large swaths of southern Lebanon and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Israel has said it will not withdraw its troops until Hezbollah is disarmed.Last week, Israel and the Lebanese government signed a framework agreement to end the conflict. But their deal did not include Hezbollah or Iran. Hezbollah has criticized the deal and rejected calls to disarm.Israel, Lebanon sign framework agreement with U.S. in 'first step' toward peaceOn Sunday, Araghchi again said during a visit to Iraq that the U.S. must force Israel to halt attacks and withdraw. Israel occupies around 600 square kilometres in southern Lebanon, which it says it needs as a security buffer to halt attacks from Hezbollah.But sporadic clashes have continued between Israel and Hezbollah.The leader of the Iran-backed group said Saturday that Hezbollah would continue fighting until Israel withdraws from Lebanon, adding that the group considers the Israeli-Lebanese agreement signed on Friday to be "non-existent."The frequency of Israeli strikes in Lebanon has decreased significantly since the Iran-U.S. deal was signed in mid-June, but strikes have continued, killing at least one person Saturday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Two separate Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon on Sunday morning — one in the town of Taybeh and another in the Nabatiyeh area, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. There was no immediate word on casualties.Overnight, Hezbollah militants killed an Israeli soldier in the village of Deir Siryan in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah did not comment on the incident.