US Shoots Down Iranian Drones in Hormuz Amid Fresh Escalation
7 Jun 2026 9:39 AM IST7 Jun 2026 9:39 AM IST
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces engaged the drones after determining they posed a danger to maritime traffic in the strategic waterway
A small boat moves along the shoreline where an a cargo vessel, tugboat and industrial barge are all anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
Tehran: The United States said it shot down a pair of Iranian drones threatening the Strait of Hormuz, as the Middle East war reached its 100th day on Sunday with no end in sight. US Central Command said early on Sunday it downed two Iranian attack drones that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway crucial to global energy exports that’s also been at the heart of discussions.
The past week saw the worst flare-up in tensions since the truce started around April 8. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran are bogged down over the fate of billions of dollars of frozen Iranian assets and a parallel conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In Washington, President Donald Trump’s administration is floating a plan to steer Iranian assets frozen in the US toward helping those Gulf allies rebuild from damage inflicted by the Islamic Republic.
Trump said in an interview broadcast Sunday that he would not unfreeze any Iranian assets or lift any sanctions against Iran as part of an initial deal.
“If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking” about releasing the assets, Trump told Kristen Welker in the interview taped Friday for NBC’s Meet the Press.
“If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking” about releasing the assets, Trump told Kristen Welker in the interview taped Friday for NBC’s Meet the Press.
Tehran, meanwhile, insists those assets be released. The dispute risks derailing the discussions on a truce extension, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and future talks over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iran has demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon before an accord can be reached with the US. A military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei told CNN “the ball is in Trump’s court” when it comes to a deal.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle with agency inputs )
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