US and Iran exchange strikes in Gulf in latest test of ceasefire

The US military says it has shot down four Iranian "one-way attack drones" launched toward the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the drones "posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic".

US forces "subsequently struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island to defend against further attacks", US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement.

Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at two US air bases in Kuwait, and facilities of the US Navy in Bahrain, Iran's state-run Irib news agency reported.

Centcom said initial assessments showed that of the seven Iranian missiles fired at the two Gulf states, six were intercepted and one did not reach its target.

This comes several days after the US and Iran exchanged strikes, in an escalation that threatened a shaky ceasefire between the two countries.

One person was killed and more than 60 injured in Iranian drone strikes on Kuwait's international airport on Wednesday, local officials said.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) denied responsibility for the airport strike, claiming the damage was caused by an error from a US missile interceptor.

Centcom said this was false and claimed Iran struck the airport in a "deliberate, calculated and unjustified attack".

The IRGC earlier said it had targeted US bases in the Gulf in retaliation for US strikes on an Iranian oil tanker and Qeshm Island.