The United States has announced that it has intercepted multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones that were launched towards the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf as negotiations between the two sides have bene dragging along.According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), tasked to West Asia, seven ballistic missiles were fired by Iran towards Kuwait and Bahrain on Friday night, hours after CENTCOM shot down four Iranian attack drones that were launched towards the Strait of Hormuz. It added that six of the missiles were intercepted, and the seventh did not reach its target.There were currently no reports of harm to US personnel, and Iranian claims of damaging US 5th fleet headquarters in Bahrain were false, the central command said.Meanwhile, US forces targeted Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island.According to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its attacks had targeted US bases in the region in retaliation for US strikes. It added that it fired at four tankers that were attempting to cross the Hormuz.The IRGC said the latest incident began when several oil tankers backed by the United States attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz without coordinating with the IRGC, what followed was a series of back-and-forth attacks.The IRGC has explicitly warned that this kind of aggression from the US will not go unanswered, and that it will retaliate forcefully and immediately.Later on Saturday, Bahrain’s army announced that its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed three missiles and a number of drones launched by Iran, adding that Iran continued its “systematic hostile approach” through “unlawful” attacks.Kuwait’s Foreign Affairs ministry also condemned the Iranian attack, calling it a “brazen assault” that disregards international norms.In a statement, it said the attack “shows utter indifference to the direct threat they pose to the lives of citizens and residents, as well as to the security and stability of the region”.The US and Iran have been participating in indirect talks to reach an interim deal to end the war; however, the two sides remain at odds.As part of the agreement, Iran wants sanctions waivers, access to frozen assets, and the lifting of a US blockade on its ports. At the same time, the US has called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and concessions on Tehran’s nuclear programme.