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CAIRO — <\/span>Bahrain’s government said Saturday that Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones towards it and Kuwait. The foreign ministry said they had been intercepted and called on Iran to immediately cease attacks on its Gulf neighbors. <\/p>\n The statement came hours after the U.S. military said it shot down Iranian ballistic missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> and Gulf Arab allies on Friday, while striking some of the Islamic Republic\u2019s coastal surveillance radar sites in response, an exchange of fire that further frayed a shaky ceasefire with Tehran. <\/p>\n The exchange of strikes comes as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran<\/a> to make a deal to end the conflict.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command said on social media Friday night that Iran fired seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, with U.S. forces intercepting six of the missiles and a seventh failing to reach its target. The military said there were no reports of harm to U.S. personnel.<\/p>\n The ballistic missiles were fired after the U.S. earlier in the day shot down four Iranian drones that were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n \u201cThe attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,\u201d U.S. Central Command said on social media. <\/p>\n Kuwait\u2019s military said forces were intercepting missiles and drones attacking the country, while Bahrain activated air raid sirens and told residents to move to the nearest safe location and follow official instructions.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard said it targeted the Ali Al Salem airbase, which hosts U.S. forces in Kuwait, and the U.S. Navy\u2019s 5th Fleet in the tiny Gulf island nation of Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.<\/p>\n The U.S. military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran\u2019s chokehold on the crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments, which has sent energy prices spiking and posed political problems<\/a> for President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of the midterm congressional elections.<\/p>\n U.S. Central Command said it hit the radar sites, including an island in the strait, \u201cto defend against further attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the latest in back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous ceasefire in the war<\/a> and efforts to reach a deal<\/a> to extend that truce. Earlier this week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal<\/a> at Kuwait\u2019s main airport, killing one person, wounding dozens and briefly closing the airfield.<\/p>\n Despite the attacks raising new concerns that the ceasefire could collapse, Trump told reporters Friday that \u201cthe situation with Iran seems to be going quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to come out of Iran very quickly and it\u2019s going to be very strong one way or the other, whether it\u2019s a piece of paper or the very tough way,\u201d Trump said at an event with farmers in Wisconsin. \u201cThe very tough way is maybe the easier way, but we\u2019re going to come out, and your fertilizer prices are going to go way down, just like they were four months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump increasingly appears to be boxed in<\/a> on a conflict that has settled into a holding pattern. U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement<\/a> a week ago to extend the ceasefire<\/a> by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/a>. But Trump has called for unspecified changes and Iranian officials have shown no public signs of signing off on the deal.<\/p>\n Asked on Friday why it was taking so long, Trump told NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d it was because \u201cit\u2019s a very hard thing for them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are things they never thought they\u2019d be doing that they\u2019re going to have to do. They\u2019ve got no choice, and it takes a little while,\u201d he said in the interview.<\/p>\n Trump said the Iranians still have 21% to 22% of their missiles. <\/p>\n His administration also has touted the latest ceasefire agreed<\/a> to this week by the Lebanese government and Israel after U.S.-brokered talks in Washington. However, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group has rejected the agreement and new attacks have put it at further risk.<\/p>\n