Iran carried out strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain on Saturday in response to US attacks despite the ceasefire, further jeopardizing negotiations that are already stalled, particularly on the issue of frozen Iranian assets.

Since the ceasefire of April 8, hostilities between the United States and Iran had virtually ceased. But they have recently resumed, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime waterway for hydrocarbons that is controlled by Tehran.

These new exchanges of fire come as Iranian players competing in the World Cup have obtained their visas to enter the United States, where they are due to play their three group stage matches, the first of which is on June 15 in Los Angeles against New Zealand.

Iran, however, denounced what it considers to be "discriminatory treatment" as several members of the management team did not obtain the necessary authorization.

- "Deafening explosions" -

In the Gulf, Kuwait and Bahrain, already targeted earlier in the week, condemned the "blatant aggressions" committed by Iran against their territory, seeing it as "a dangerous escalation".

During the night, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards indicated that they had fired ballistic missiles in retaliation for American strikes towards the Ali Al-Salem airbase in Kuwait, where American aircraft are stationed, and the headquarters of the American Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

"We were woken up by deafening explosions. The blasts were extremely loud. My children were terrified, and I couldn't calm them down," Reem, an Egyptian woman living in Kuwait, told AFP.

According to the U.S. Central Command for the Middle East (Centcom), of the seven missiles, "six were intercepted and a seventh did not reach its intended target."

US forces had previously struck Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in the city of Goruk and on Qeshm Island "in order to defend against further attacks," Centcom added.

The army reported that Iranian drones "launched towards the Strait of Hormuz" and that "represented an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic.

- "Our money" -

On the diplomatic front, no news has emerged regarding the progress of negotiations between the two parties in recent days.

Iran's Supreme Leader's military advisor, Mohsen Rezaei, spoke of a "deadlock" in an interview with CNN. He called on Donald Trump to "break the deadlock" by releasing $24 billion in Iranian funds held abroad, frozen due to US sanctions.

"If he wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a confidence test (...) that the United States must pass to open the way," he said. "It's our money, not the United States'."

Another major point of contention is Lebanon - Tehran demands that any agreement with Washington include an end to hostilities on Lebanese soil between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.

But the truce in place since April 17 has never been respected. And the fighting and airstrikes continue despite the announcement on Wednesday, at the end of a fourth round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Washington, of a new ceasefire agreement.

Hezbollah rejected this agreement, as it had the previous one.

The army announced on Saturday the death of three soldiers "in a brutal Israeli attack" that targeted a military vehicle in the south of the country.

This attack constitutes a "flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and international law," condemned President Joseph Aoun, who had also lashed out at Tehran the day before, calling on it to stop interfering in the affairs of his country.

"Based on Mr. Aoun's remarks, one might think that Iran has occupied a fifth of Lebanon, displaced a quarter of the Lebanese population, and is bombing the country daily," retorted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. "Save Lebanon from your true enemy, Mr. President," he added, referring to Israel without naming it.

Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war in early March, attacking Israel to avenge the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the Israeli-American attack.

Israeli retaliatory strikes have killed more than 3,560 people since the start of the conflict, according to the latest official figures. On the Israeli side, 27 soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed in Lebanon.