Iran took another step Saturday toward widening the Gulf fighting, sending a wave of drones toward Kuwait in an attack that the US ally said it intercepted. The strike added tension to the region, the Wall Street Journal reports, after President Trump’s pledge to sharply escalate the US bombardment of Iran at any moment now. US embassies urged Americans to consider leaving the region, and airlines extended cancellations to key Gulf in the face of warnings that airspace closures could be next. Iran’s military warned countries in the region not to cooperate with the US, which it accused of “escalating tensions,” per AFP.
The flare-up centers on energy chokepoints: Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, where a ship was damaged and another reported a near-miss on Friday, and unrest has spread to Egypt’s Damietta port and the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthis say they are blocking Saudi oil shipments, while Saudi Arabia has hit Iran-linked militias in Iraq, per the Journal. Analysts describe ever-faster cycles of escalation that are eroding trust, unnerving Gulf governments, and pushing any renewed truce further out of reach.