Iran strikes Kuwait, Bahrain as US bombs Iranian island, cripples tanker

Major escalation threatens shaky Mideast ceasefire as US retaliates following Iranian attack on Kuwaiti airport and Bahrain.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks toward Kuwait, Bahrain and regional waters, prompting US forces to intercept incoming weapons and strike Iranian military sites on Qeshm Island in the latest flare-up of the US-Iran war.

Kuwait said an Iranian drone and missile attack struck Kuwait International Airport early Wednesday, damaging the airport’s Terminal 1 building, injuring people and forcing authorities to suspend and divert flights.

The attack marked one of the most serious direct hits on Gulf civilian infrastructure since the current round of hostilities began.

US Central Command said American and partner forces defeated multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones during the attacks and carried out what it described as self-defense strikes against Iranian military infrastructure.

“Iran launched several ballistic missiles toward regional neighbors; however, all failed to hit their intended targets,” CENTCOM said.

According to CENTCOM, two Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait “fell short or broke apart enroute,” while three missiles launched at Bahrain were “immediately intercepted by U.S. and Bahrain air defense forces.”

CENTCOM said US forces also shot down three Iranian one-way attack drones that were launched toward civilian mariners in regional waters. American forces then struck an Iranian military ground-control station on Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz.

“No US personnel were harmed,” CENTCOM said. “CENTCOM forces remain vigilant and ready to defend against unwarranted Iranian aggression during the ongoing ceasefire.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for attacks on US-linked targets in Bahrain and Kuwait, saying it had targeted the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet and other military assets in response to American strikes near Qeshm Island.

Iranian media cited the IRGC as saying the attacks were retaliation for what Tehran described as a US attack on a communications tower south of Qeshm. The IRGC also said its naval forces targeted a vessel it identified as Panaya, claiming the strike came in response to a US attack on an Iranian tanker near the Strait of Hormuz that crippled the vessel.

“Disrupting the security of the Strait of Hormuz will carry a heavy price for the U.S. military,” Iranian media quoted the IRGC as saying.

The US did not confirm Iranian claims of successful strikes on the Fifth Fleet headquarters or other American military facilities. Reuters reported that Bahrain’s army said it intercepted three missiles and several drones.

The latest attacks came amid a fragile and increasingly disputed ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, with both sides accusing the other of violating understandings reached after months of fighting.

President Donald Trump has said negotiations with Iran are continuing, writing that “the conversations between us have been going on continuously.” Iranian media, however, reported that Tehran has not communicated with Washington for several days.