WASHINGTON: New attacks in the Middle East on Friday (Jun 5) threatened to unravel an already fragile United States-Iran ceasefire, even as American officials confirmed that Tehran’s football players had received visas for the World Cup.
Weeks of complex talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence have failed to secure a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows.
A ceasefire in the Middle East war, triggered nearly 100 days ago by US and Israeli strikes that wiped out Iran’s top leadership, has been in place since Apr 8.
But tensions surged again on Friday when the US military said it struck radar sites in Iran after downing drones headed towards the strait.
Shortly after, air raid sirens sounded in neighbouring Gulf nations Kuwait and Bahrain – both US allies – and AFP correspondents in both countries heard explosions.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said early on Saturday they had targeted “enemy bases in the area” with missiles in response to a US “invasion” of the country’s Sirik and Qeshm islands.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iran launched seven ballistic missiles towards Kuwait and Bahrain.
CENTCOM said six of the missiles were downed while the seventh “did not reach its intended target”.
“There are currently no reports of harm to US personnel, and Iranian claims of damaging US 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain are false,” the command said in a statement.
The latest flare-up came despite the United States moving ahead with allowing Iran’s national football team to travel to the FIFA World Cup it is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico.
US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack confirmed the visa issuances, saying that “sports transcends borders, and we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world”.
However, Iran’s Fars news agency reported that visas had yet to be issued for some members of the team’s “technical and executive staff”.
An unnamed US administration official said in a statement: “We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretences.”
The team is due to fly from Türkiye to Spain on Saturday before travelling on to their base camp in Mexico, where they will arrive on Sunday.