Iran, US trade air strikes near Strait of Hormuz as West Asia tensions soar

US President Donald Trump (right) speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

Iran targeted a US air base on Thursday after the US struck what Washington described as an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz and US President Donald Trump rejected a reported compromise deal with Tehran. The attacks highlighted the fragility of negotiations aimed at ending the three-month-old war and reopening the vital shipping route.

A US official said the military shot down four Iranian attack drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that it had targeted the US base responsible for an early-morning attack near Bandar Abbas airport, and that "any aggression would lead to a more decisive response." Kuwait - which hosts a large US base - said it was responding to missile and drone attacks without saying where the attacks were coming from.

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