New attacks in the Middle East on Friday threatened to unravel an already fragile US-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 April 8.

Ad

But tensions surged again Friday when the US military said it struck radar sites in Iran after downing drones headed toward the strait.

Shortly after, air raid sirens sounded in neighboring Gulf nations Kuwait and Bahrain — both US allies — and AFP correspondents in both countries heard explosions.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said early 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.

Ad

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iran launched seven ballistic missiles toward 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.

Ad

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 Turkey 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.”

Ad

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 pretenses.”

The team is due to fly from Turkey to Spain on Saturday before traveling on to their base camp in Mexico, where they will arrive on Sunday.

Earlier Friday, CENTCOM said its forces also downed four Iranian drones headed toward the Strait of Hormuz before striking Iranian coastal radar installations in Goruk and on Qeshm Island.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” while the strikes on radar installations “defend against further attacks,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

Iranian state television IRIB reported early Saturday, local time, that “several explosions were heard” in Sirik in southern Iran at around 2:30 am (2300 GMT Friday).

“Following the invasion of the child-killing and terrorist US army into Sirik and Qeshm Island, enemy bases in the region were hit by aerial missiles,” IRIB reported, quoting the Guards after the US strikes on Iran.

Kuwait’s military said early Saturday it was responding to “hostile” missile and drone attacks, days after a strike on the country’s international airport killed one and wounded dozens.

“Kuwaiti air defenses are currently responding to hostile missile and drone attacks,” the military said on X, without specifying their origin.

US President Donald Trump told NBC News on Friday that Iran still retained roughly “21, 22 percent” of its missile stockpile despite repeated claims from US officials that Tehran’s military capacity had been crippled.

That figure was higher than the 18 percent Trump gave in May.

– Lebanon asks for ‘mercy’ –

Efforts to turn the truce into a lasting settlement have repeatedly stalled, while the conflict has rattled global markets and increased political pressure on Trump at home ahead of midterm elections.

“The negotiations are at a deadlock and Trump must break this deadlock,” Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN in an interview on Friday, as he called for the release of frozen Iranian assets to the tune of “$24 billion”.

Lebanon — which was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 — called Friday for Iran to stop interfering in its affairs.

Israel and Tehran-backed Hezbollah traded attacks after a new truce deal was flatly rejected by the group.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam addressed Iran’s leaders in frank terms during a press conference, saying: “Have mercy on our south, stop treating it and its people as merely a bargaining chip.”

“We are the people of a sovereign nation that refuses to serve as… an open battlefield for their wars.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took aim at similar criticism from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun early Saturday, calling on him to save Lebanon from its “real foe.”

Iran, in peace negotiations with Washington, has insisted that the fighting in Lebanon and the war in the Gulf are inextricably linked.

What does this really mean?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter where we look at the technology stories reshaping how Canadian businesses operate and compete, and what they mean for the people running them.

We land in your inbox on Tuesdays. You can unsubscribe at any time.

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

The latest World news:

Related News

  • US confirms Iranian footballers granted visas for World Cup Iran’s football squad have been granted visas to enter the United Sates so they can play in the World Cup, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack confirmed Friday. A US administration official confirmed this separately in a statement issued by… By AFP June 5, 2026
  • Trump says Iran has agreed to no nuclear weapons US President Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons, as reports emerged he had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Tehran. Any tweaks to the proposal could prolong even further… By AFP May 31, 2026
  • Israel launches more south Lebanon strikes after warnings Israel launched strikes across south Lebanon Saturday after ordering evacuations from more than a dozen locations a day after its premier said Israeli forces had pushed even deeper into Lebanese territory. Lebanon’s army said a “targeted” Israeli strike wounded two… By AFP May 30, 2026
  • US warns capable of resuming war with Iran as deal remains elusive The United States warned on Saturday it was “more than capable” of resuming war with Iran after President Donald Trump said any peace deal must adhere to his red lines, including Tehran never being able to develop nuclear weapons. The… By AFP May 30, 2026
  • Vance says progress made as US-Iran deal awaits Trump green light US Vice President JD Vance said Washington and Tehran are close to agreeing a deal to extend their ceasefire in the Middle East war, but the potential breakthrough still hangs on President Donald Trump’s approval. Trump remained notably silent into… By AFP May 29, 2026
  • US, Iran accuse each other of violating truce after attacks The United States and Iran accused each other of violating an ongoing truce on Thursday following an exchange of fire, three months after the Middle East war began with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic. The trading… By AFP May 28, 2026
  • Oil prices bounce higher after new U.S. strikes on Iran An American official said the military had shot down four Iranian drones and struck a control centre in the southern city of Bandar Abbas. By AFP May 28, 2026

Source: Digital Journal