MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. Renewed US-Iran military exchanges following US strikes on Iran have placed the fragile Middle East ceasefire at risk; disagreements have emerged between Moscow and Washington over the status of the Ukraine-related understandings reached at the Anchorage summit; and the European Union has begun planning additional long-term financial assistance for Ukraine beyond 2027. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Vedomosti: Middle East ceasefire under strain as US-Iran tensions escalate again
In response to US military strikes on Iran, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) conducted a military operation in Kuwait and Bahrain in the early hours of June 28, according to an IRGC statement. Iranian forces fired ballistic missiles and drones against eight US military facilities at Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters at Bahrain’s Salman Port. The IRGC blamed the United States for violating the ceasefire agreement and warned that any further American military provocations in the Persian Gulf would lead to a full suspension of diplomatic channels. Experts interviewed by Vedomosti believe that the recent escalation stems from Washington’s efforts to pressure and test Iran amid unresolved disagreements, while the fragile ceasefire framework makes further incidents likely and reduces the prospects for a lasting peace agreement.
