KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait said Thursday its air defenses were intercepting a missile and drone attack from Iran, as Tehran expanded its retaliation against US allies across the Middle East following renewed American bombardment of the Islamic republic.
“Kuwaiti air defenses are currently engaging hostile missile and drone attacks following the heinous Iranian aggression,” Kuwait’s army said in a post on X.
Iranian state television confirmed that Tehran was targeting US bases in Kuwait “in response to America’s crimes against the Iranian people.”
The attack came after Iran targeted US military facilities and allies in Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region amid a sharp escalation in fighting with Washington.
The latest round of violence followed extensive US strikes on Iranian targets this week. The fighting intensified after Washington struck Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, saying Tehran was preparing to use them to shoot mines into the strategic waterway.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles toward US bases in Jordan, which were intercepted, while Iranian drones were also launched toward Bahrain and the UAE.
US Central Command said its latest strikes focused on Iranian military targets, including air defense sites, radar systems and maritime assets.
But Tehran reacted with fury after Iranian authorities said a US strike hit a home hosting a wedding in Kuhestak, a small coastal town overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian Red Crescent said four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 wounded. Iranian state media reported that the dead included two women and two children.
Washington did not directly address the incident, with CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins saying the US military “never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” referring to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
The widening confrontation has also deepened concerns over the security of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy route.
A Saudi Arabia-flagged crude oil tanker came under attack and caught fire near the waterway on Monday, killing two Filipino crew members, according to Philippine officials. No one claimed responsibility.
Saudi Arabia condemned the attack and called on all sides to return to negotiations and peaceful solutions, stressing the need to halt escalation and protect international navigation and global energy supplies.
Iran has imposed a chokehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began, sharply reducing traffic through a waterway that carried about a fifth of the world’s traded oil in peacetime and contributing to rising global energy prices.
Arab interior ministers have condemned Iranian attacks on Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain and the UAE, while regional governments including Egypt and Qatar have called for Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations.
• With AFP & AP