The Iranian military said that it had launched ballistic missile strikes on Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait and also targeted the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, as a tenuous ceasefire to the Iran War entered its 60th day on Saturday.
U.S. Central Command said on Friday evening U.S. Eastern Time that it had shot down four Iranian drones, adding that the drones “posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic.”
NBC News, citing current and former U.S. officials, reported Friday that the Pentagon has raised its counterintelligence threat assessment of Israeli spying operations against the U.S. to “critical,” the highest level. The news outlet said the new assessment comes amid “rising tensions” between the two countries over the Iran War and reflects concerns that the Israeli government is spying on top U.S. officials to learn more about the Trump administration’s thinking on the ongoing Middle East conflicts.
The White House denied NBC’s reporting.
The report follows similar findings that have emerged from the intelligence community in recent years. Details of a National Intelligence Estimate leaked by the whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed that the NIE ranked Israel as the “third most aggressive intelligence service against the U.S,” while the FBI and other intelligence agencies concluded in 2019 that cellphone surveillance devices found near the White House during President Donald Trump’s first term were most likely planted by Israel.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday had criticized Iran for conditioning an end to the Iran War on the cessation of Israel’s military occupation of Lebanon, telling CNN that Iran was “using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with the United States.”
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to Aoun on Thursday evening, writing on X that “based on Mr. Aoun’s comments, one would think it’s Iran that has occupied 1/5 of Lebanon, displaced 1/4 of Lebanese and bombing his country on a daily basis,” urging the Lebanese president to direct his frustrations toward his country’s “real foe,” Israel.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that Israeli attacks have killed 35 people since Friday morning, raising the death toll to 3,593 people killed across the country since March 2. The IDF said two Israeli soldiers were injured in two separate incidents Thursday and Friday.
The price of Brent Crude oil closed at $93 on Friday while gas prices remained elevated. AAA reported the national average price of regular gas at $4.19. Both figures are down from recent peaks.
