Iran said it struck U.S.-linked military targets in Kuwait and Bahrain after American forces resumed attacks on Iranian infrastructure in response to tanker strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said Wednesday that it struck 85 locations tied to U.S. military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, escalating regional hostilities after attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz triggered new U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
The IRGC said in a statement carried by Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency that its forces conducted a joint missile and drone operation against sites linked to American military installations at Bahrain’s Salman Port, the Fifth Naval District and Kuwait’s Ali Al-Salem Air Base. The Iranian report claimed the operation also included the downing of a U.S. MQ-9 drone.
The U.S. government had not confirmed major damage at press time, but Kuwait and Bahrain condemned the Iranian strikes, saying the attacks endangered their countries and populations.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya operational headquarters later issued a statement warning that countries assisting American forces could face further attacks.
“The origin of any support for the aggressor U.S. military in its aggression against the sovereignty and territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be a legitimate target of the armed forces,” the statement read.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the Iranian strikes as “heinous Iranian aggressions” against Kuwait, saying the attacks were not limited to American targets because they occurred on Kuwaiti territory.
The ministry called the strikes “a flagrant violation of its [Kuwait’s] sovereignty, a direct threat to its security and stability, and to the safety of its citizens and residents on its territory, and a grave breach of the rules of international law.”
“The Ministry renews its affirmation that the continuation of these brazen aggressions, at a time when regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation are underway,” Kuwait’s foreign minister said, “constitutes a systematic undermining of efforts to reduce tensions and strikes at the supporting international will for this path.”
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry separately condemned Iran’s strikes on Bahrain, again describing the action as aggression and affirming Kuwait’s “steadfast and supportive stance toward the security and stability of the sisterly Kingdom of Bahrain.”
The latest escalation followed Iranian attacks Tuesday on three commercial tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. Two of the ships were identified as Qatari and Saudi vessels. The attacks violated a memorandum of understanding reached in June between the United States and Iran, which had required 60 days of negotiations toward a long-term agreement barring Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and preserving the free flow of commercial traffic through the strait.
The broader conflict began in February, when President Donald Trump launched Operation Epic Fury and killed Iran’s longtime ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A temporary ceasefire was reached in April before the June memorandum sought to extend diplomacy.
After the tanker attacks, U.S. Central Command said American forces had resumed strikes on Iranian targets to defend commercial shipping and freedom of navigation.
“U.S. Central Command forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway,” CENTCOM said Tuesday. “The U.S. strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.”
Bahrain had condemned the tanker attacks before Iran struck targets in the kingdom. Its Foreign Ministry issued “strong condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian terrorist attack” on Saudi and Qatari tankers, calling it “an unacceptable attack on the security and safety of international navigation and global energy supplies.”
Bahrain also urged the U.N. Security Council to “take a firm stance” against Iran and said the international community must help ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz “without restrictions or the imposition of illegal fees.”
Trump said Wednesday during the NATO summit in Turkey that the memorandum with Iran was no longer valid because Tehran had violated the deal. He also sharply criticized Iranian officials while discussing the collapse of negotiations.
“They’re a bunch of scum, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told reporters, referring to Iranian government officials. “We don’t like them, they’re evil people. They’re crazy and they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon.”
“Everyone’s agreed, no nuclear weapon. We make a deal. They go outside, joke to the press, they say we never even talked about it. There’s something wrong with them, they’re cuckoo,” Trump added.
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