Iran war ceasefire tested as cargo ship catches fire and Kuwait reports drone attack
The shaky ceasefire in the Iran war was tested again on Sunday when drones of unclear origin set fire to a cargo ship off Qatar’s coast and entered Kuwaiti airspace before dawn, authorities said.
Qatar and Kuwait said that no casualties were reported from either attack. The events marked the latest threats to a month-old ceasefire, which the Trump administration says remains in effect.
This comes as Washington has been awaiting Iran’s response to a new proposal for a deal to end the war, reopen the strait to shipping and roll back Iran’s nuclear program. U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing, if Iran doesn’t accept an agreement on the strait and its nuclear program.
In an interview with Iranian state media, a spokesman for the Iranian military said that forces were on “full readiness” to protect nuclear sites where the uranium is stored.
“We considered it possible that they might intend to steal it through infiltration operations or heliborne operations,” Brig. Gen. Akrami Nia told the IRNA news agency late Saturday. He didn’t offer further details.
In Sunday’s naval attack, Qatar’s ministry of defense said that a drone targeted a commercial ship coming from Abu Dhabi into a southern port, setting a small fire that was extinguished. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said that the attack happened 23 nautical miles (43 kilometers) northeast of Qatar’s capital, Doha. It gave no details on the owner or origin of the ship, and there was no claim of responsibility.
