US says it destroyed two Iran drones targeting Hormuz shipping

The US military said late Saturday it shot down two Iranian attack drones threatening Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic, the latest clash between the warring forces as tensions escalate anew in the Middle East.

“Earlier today, US forces in the Middle East shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz,” US Central Command said on its X account.

“American forces remain postured and ready to continue defending against Iranian aggression.”

CENTCOM said late Friday its forces shot down four Iranian attack drones launched toward the strait, then struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites.

The tit-for-tat strikes, including a salvo of Iranian missiles fired Saturday at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait, come despite Washington and Tehran being engaged in weeks of indirect talks on how to end the war.

Iran says frozen funds key to progress in US talks

The release of frozen Iranian funds has become a key issue in negotiations between Tehran and Washington aimed at ending their war, a senior Iranian official said.

Iran has been subject to asset freezes and sweeping sanctions by the United States and other Western countries since its 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed Shah regime.

In an interview broadcast on Friday, Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said the talks were failing over the release of Iranian assets.

“If he (Trump) wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of trust that Iran wants to have with Trump,” he told CNN, according to an English translation of his remarks provided by the channel.