Missiles Fly In Persian Gulf As US, Iran Deal Hangs In Balance

The U.S. military and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend, despite an ongoing ceasefire and the two sides still trying to hammer out a peace deal.

The U.S. military struck Goruk and Qeshm Island in Iran over the weekend, according to a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) press release on Sunday. The IRGC retaliated by striking targets in Kuwait, a U.S. ally in the region, according to an X post from the General Staff of the Kuwaiti Army. Iran War that has been in effect since April 8, according to a White House press release.

An MQ-1 drone that was flying over Iran’s territorial waters was shot down early over the weekend, spurring the U.S. strikes in response, CENTCOM said.

“Kuwaiti Air Defenses are currently responding to hostile missile and drone threats,” the Kuwaiti army said in the X post. “The General Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces confirms that any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting hostile targets.”

تتصدى حالياً الدفاعات الجوية الكويتية لهجمات صاروخية وطائرات مسيرة معادية.

تنوه رئاسة الأركان العامة للجيش أن أصوات الانفجارات إن سمعت فهي نتيجة اعتراض منظومات الدفاع الجوي للهجمات المعادية.

يرجى من الجميع التقيد بتعليمات الأمن والسلامة الصادرة عن الجهات المختصة.… pic.twitter.com/TkNLV2Yj4E

— KUWAIT ARMY – الجيش الكويتي (@KuwaitArmyGHQ) June 1, 2026

CENTCOM said that it targeted “Iranian radar and command and control sites for drones” in the Sunday press release.

The White House, State Department and Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Iranian strikes on Kuwait were a defensive action following the U.S. attacks, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman.

CENTCOM called the Iranian military action “unwarranted Iranian aggression during the ongoing ceasefire.”

‘Make A Deal’

President Donald Trump said early Monday that Iran wants to make a deal, but blamed the continued failure of negotiations on “Dumocrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans,” in a Truth Social.

“Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us,” Trump said in the post.

An unconfirmed report from the IRGC-linked Tasnim claimed Iran was backing away from the negotiations over Israel’s ongoing campaign in Lebanon, The New York Times reported. Despite the U.S. pushing for Israel to cease its strikes in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the country to continue its campaign.

The exchange of fire between U.S. and Iranian forces is not the only military action that occurred over the weekend.

“U.S. forces operating in the Gulf of Oman enforced blockade measures by disabling a Gambia-flagged maritime vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, May 29,” CENTCOM said in a press release on Saturday.

The strike on the Gambian ship was conducted by a Hellfire missile launched from a U.S. aircraft after the U.S. military issued more than 20 warnings to the ship, according to the press release.

The war’s bill has rapidly risen since the conflict began.

“And so now we think it [spending on the Iran War] is closer to 29 [billion dollars],” Department of War Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer Jules W. Hurst III said during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on May 12.

These strikes are not the first on Qeshm Island since the cease-fire took place. The U.S. military hit the island with airstrikes on May 7, Fox News Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported in an X post, citing a senior U.S. official.