Deadly strike hits Kuwait airport as US and Iran trade blows
One person has died and several others have been injured in an Iranian drone hit on Kuwait’s international airport, the emirate says, as the US and Iran trade strikes in one of the biggest volleys of attacks in weeks.
Today’s hostilities were one of the most dramatic since the ceasefire began in April and hit as peace negotiations were already on rocky ground.
State-controlled media images show the Iranian response to a US attack. Telegram/IRIB
The back and forth appeared to begin when the US military hit the engine room of a Botswana-flagged oil tanker heading toward an Iranian port on Kharg Island with a Hellfire missile.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the ship did not comply with the US blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran said it fired missiles at a Liberian-flagged vessel in response, before the US struck an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz, in a more serious escalation.
Iran fired drones at Kuwait and Bahrain, saying it targeted “an American air and helicopter base” in the region and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
“We had previously warned that in case of aggression, the response would be different and more severe, and we acted accordingly,” Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said in a statement.
The US military hit the engine room of a Botswana-flagged oil tanker heading toward an Iranian port on Kharg Island with a Hellfire missile. CENTCOM
The US said “all Iranian attacks on American forces failed”, either because they were intercepted or “fell short” of their targets.
Civilian infrastructure in Gulf nations has often been the victims when tensions escalated throughout the three-month war, which began when the US and Israel attacked Iran and assassinated its leader, and this was no exception.
Kuwait suspended commercial flights today after Iranian drones heavily damaged the airport and killed one person.
It had only reopened on Monday after closing in February during the war. Kuwait said it partially reopened on Wednesday.
Debris burns in a parking lot following reports of missile and drone attacks in Kuwait. Social media screengrab
Defence Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi said “a number of hostile drones” targeted the passenger building, severely damaging it and injuring “a number of individuals”.
Later, Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry said at least one person had been killed and others wounded.
State media reported that Kuwait Airways was suspending its operations until further notice.
The strikes came after Iran reportedly stopped communicating with mediators about extending a ceasefire in the war with the US and Israel.
US President Donald Trump called reports of a cessation in talks “false and erroneous”.
“The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago and today,” Trump said in a social media post.
“Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, ’It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal.”
Iran has been trying to increase pressure on Trump over negotiations on the Iran war ceasefire and loosening the Islamic Republic’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and the oil, gas and other commodities that normally pass through it.
Donald Trump has labelled reports of a cessation in talks “false and erroneous”. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Trump then could potentially push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt or slow the advance of his forces, which have moved deeper into Lebanon than at any time in over a quarter of a century.
The conflicts have increasingly become conjoined, as Iran insists that any potential truce in the war there must also quell the fighting in Lebanon.
- Reported with Associated Press and CNN
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