US CENTCOM Claims Success in Defeating Iranian Missile and Drone Attacks in Gulf

JAKARTA - The United States military said on Tuesday it had "successfully defeated" a series of Iranian missile and drone attacks in the Gulf and carried out a defensive strike on Iran's Qeshm Island.

US Central Command (US CENTCOM) also denied claims by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that they had attacked the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a separate air base in the region.

"Iran launched several ballistic missiles towards neighboring countries in the region; however, they all failed to hit their targets," US CENTCOM said in a statement, launching Al Arabiya from AFP (3/6).

"Two Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait failed to reach their targets or were destroyed en route, and three missiles launched at Bahrain were immediately intercepted by US and Bahraini air defense forces," he said.

Previously, the Kuwaiti military said its air defenses intercepted "hostile" missile and drone attacks.

Then, US CENTCOM said "an additional wave of Iranian drones attempting to attack US forces in Kuwait failed to hit their intended targets," with several drones shot down.

The US military also shot down three attack drones launched by Iran "towards civilian sailors who were lawfully crossing regional waters," said US CENTCOM.

Qeshm Island is located in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for Gulf oil and gas that Tehran has effectively closed since the start of its war with the US and Israel in late February.

US CENTCOM said the attack targeted an "Iranian military ground control station" on the island, adding that no US personnel were injured.

In a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency, the IRGC claimed to have attacked the US military installation in response to the attack on Qeshm Island.

"WRONG," US CENTCOM said in a post on X.

"All Iranian attacks on American forces failed."

It is known that a ceasefire has been in effect between the United States and Iran since April 8, but further talks to try to end the conflict permanently have so far been unsuccessful.

Tehran said on Monday that an Israeli expansion of its campaign in Lebanon risked ending a U.S.-Iranian ceasefire.

Previously, US forces fired missiles at a ship that tried to sail to an Iranian port that violated the American blockade, crippling the ship.

Washington has so far forcibly stopped six vessels it says were trying to break the blockade, which has been in place since April 13.