An Iranian ballistic missile struck Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait on Thursday, injuring five Americans and destroying costly U.S. military hardware in what U.S. Central Command called an "egregious ceasefire violation." The attack came as the Trump administration weighed a proposed peace deal that could end a war that has raged since February and claimed thousands of lives.
Kuwaiti air defenses intercepted the incoming Fateh-110 missile, but falling debris hit the base, wounding American contractors and active-duty personnel. Their injuries were described as minor. Two MQ-9 Reaper drones, each valued at roughly $30 million, were caught in the strike zone. One was destroyed outright. The other sustained severe damage.
The strike landed at a base just 39 miles from the Iraqi border, a facility that sits elevated above the surrounding desert. It marked the latest in a pattern of Iranian provocations that have tested the April ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran, an agreement both sides have accused the other of violating in the weeks since it was signed.
The missile launch was no random act. The Washington Times reported that the Iranian attack came in apparent retaliation for U.S. strikes on Iranian drone facilities in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas earlier that same Thursday. Kuwait's forces intercepted the incoming fire, and CENTCOM vowed to "defend allied partners" while calling the incident an unjustified act of aggression.
Kuwait's Foreign Ministry used blunt language, calling the strike "blatant aggression." Multiple regional partners joined in condemning Iran's actions.
The Fateh-110 missile has a maximum range of 124 miles, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Tehran has fired more than 1,850 ballistic missiles since the war began in February, a staggering volume that underscores the scale of the conflict and the persistent threat to American forces and allied nations in the region.
This was not the first time Iranian missiles have tested regional air defenses in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the UAE intercepted 15 Iranian missiles in what was then called the first major ceasefire violation.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed the strike and the broader standoff on Saturday while speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore. His message was direct: the United States is prepared to resume full military operations if diplomacy fails.
"Our ability to recommence if necessary...we are more than capable. Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe, so we're in a very good place."
Hegseth described the ongoing negotiations as "productive" and said he was "quite confident" President Trump could secure a deal. But he made clear that Iran understands American expectations "very, very clearly", language that left little ambiguity about the consequences of further provocations.
On the Strait of Hormuz, the vital energy waterway Iran closed in retaliation for repeated U.S. strikes, Hegseth said the blockade remains firmly in place. He acknowledged that the strait came up "relatively often" in discussions with regional partners at the forum and said their concerns were addressed.
"It will be an open strait, a toll-free strait, that the entire world can use then, which is the way that it should be."
The closure of the strait has disrupted global oil and gas shipping and driven energy prices higher, making it a central point of contention in any deal. Hegseth framed American energy dominance as part of the solution, noting that Trump "has talked about how the future in energy is actually an American future, and that's good for energy security around the world."
The scale of American military operations against Iran has been enormous, with hundreds of precision munitions expended in just the first weeks of the conflict.
On Friday, one day after the Kuwait strike, President Trump convened advisers in the White House Situation Room to weigh a proposed peace deal. He wrote on Truth Social that he would make a "final determination" about the proposal during that meeting.
Trump's public demands were unambiguous. He called for Iran to "agree never to possess a nuclear weapon and immediately open the Strait in both directions, without tolls or restrictions." Those terms, if accepted, would represent a significant Iranian concession on two fronts that have defined the standoff.
Officials briefed on the proposal told the New York Times that the deal would end the U.S.-Israeli military campaign in exchange for Iran lifting its blockade of the strait. The New York Post reported that Trump is currently deliberating whether to accept Iran's peace proposal for a 60-day ceasefire or resume military operations, with CENTCOM stating that "U.S. forces remain present and vigilant across the region."
The proposed deal carries enormous stakes. A war that began in February has ground on for months, with both sides absorbing losses. The April ceasefire was supposed to create space for negotiations, but mutual accusations of violations have eroded whatever trust it was meant to build.
Lara Trump appeared on Fox & Friends on Saturday around 1 p.m. to discuss the negotiations. She expressed hope that a resolution was imminent.
"Obviously the hope is that this wraps up very quickly, we are hoping, maybe in the next couple hours we get a solution here, but he is going to do what's right no matter what."
She defended the president's approach to the conflict, arguing that Trump has never made decisions based on political calculation. "He has never looked at things, 'well this is politically advantageous, so let me do this.' He looks at things as in is this right for America? Is this right for our future security?" she said.
Lara Trump acknowledged the political timing was difficult, noting that Trump "didn't want to have a conflict with Iran just ahead of these midterms." But she argued that the situation was inherited, "the can got kicked down the road, it landed in his lap", and compared his handling of Iran to his approach on other fronts, including holding Venezuelan leader Maduro accountable.
Iran's military capacity, while degraded by months of U.S. and Israeli operations, remains a live threat, as Thursday's strike on Kuwait demonstrated.
Several questions hang over the situation. Iran has not publicly explained the rationale for targeting a Kuwaiti air base, an act that drew condemnation from a sovereign nation that is not a direct party to the conflict. The identities and specific conditions of the five injured Americans have not been released. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon has provided on-the-record comment about the strike itself, though the Daily Mail reported contacting both for comment.
The status of the proposed peace deal also remains unclear. Lara Trump's Saturday comments suggested a resolution could come within hours, but no announcement has followed in the available reporting. Whether Iran's Thursday strike will harden or soften the administration's negotiating posture is an open question.
And the broader pattern of Iranian military aggression against American forces in the region shows no sign of abating, ceasefire or not.
The April ceasefire was supposed to mark a turning point. Instead, it became a framework for both sides to accuse the other of cheating while the missiles kept flying and the strait stayed closed. Five Americans now carry injuries from a war that was supposed to be paused. Two drones worth a combined $60 million are scrap metal or close to it. And the administration faces the same choice it has faced for months: accept a deal that requires trusting a regime that just fired a ballistic missile at an allied air base, or resume operations with all the costs that entails.
Diplomacy is worth pursuing. But a ceasefire that one side treats as a suggestion is not a ceasefire, it is a countdown.