(Bloomberg) — US and Iranian forces traded fresh attacks overnight, at the end of a week that saw the worst flare-up in tensions since the shaky ceasefire started and little progress toward an interim peace deal.
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US Central Command said it headed off multiple Iranian missiles and drones in the Persian Gulf and responded with attacks on radar sites in the Islamic Republic, in a statement posted on social media late Friday. There were no reports of damage.
Six ballistic missiles fired at Bahrain and Kuwait were intercepted and another failed to reach its intended target, hours after four drones headed to the Strait of Hormuz were shot down, Centcom said. It added the US military struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island in return.
In Washington, the Trump administration is floating a plan to steer Iranian assets in the US toward helping US allies in the Persian Gulf rebuild from damage inflicted by Tehran and to repair any future destruction.
With negotiations for ending the war bogged down over Tehran’s insistence on the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian financial assets, the approach risks further chilling talks on a truce extension, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and future talks over Iran’s nuclear program.
The escalation in missile fire comes as Washington and Tehran fail to make headway in negotiations. Several sticking points remain besides the assets, including a parallel ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Saturday to deliver a message from army chief Asim Munir to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported.
US President Donald Trump, who has insisted for months that Iran was near its breaking point, conceded Friday that the country retains some missile and drone capacity. In an interview with NBC News, he said about 21 to 22% of Tehran’s missile arsenal remains.
“It’s a lot of missiles, but it’s not what it was when we first attacked,” he told the television network during a visit to Wisconsin.
Earlier Friday, he told reporters the US is “having great success with Iran,” and “they’re in no position to have a nuclear weapon.”









