The United States said it struck Iranian military sites over the weekend, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday it targeted a US base in response, the latest exchange amid negotiations to end a three-month-old war.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X that the strikes on Iran's Gulf coast were in response to "aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone operating over international waters."
"US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters," CENTCOM said, adding it would continue to protect US assets during the ongoing ceasefire.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it had targeted an air base used by the US for an attack on southern Iran, without identifying the base.
Air defenses in Kuwait, where a major US base is located, intercepted missile and drone attacks on Monday as sirens sounded across the country, state news agency KUNA reported, without providing further details.
The US and Iran have sporadically exchanged strikes since their ceasefire took effect in early April as negotiations for a more durable agreement drag on. A similar exchange occurred last Thursday.
The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump has said his key aim is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies having such plans.
Trump faces pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lower US gasoline prices ahead of November congressional elections, as voters show frustration over rising costs. He also faces potential backlash from Iran hawks in his own party over concessions to Tehran.
The two sides remain at odds on issues like lifting sanctions and releasing billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.
Israel's war in Lebanon with Hezbollah is another impediment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he ordered troops to advance further into Lebanon.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Netanyahu on diplomatic negotiations and proposed a plan for "gradual de-escalation," a US official said.
