Iran strikes US allies in Kuwait and Bahrain amid escalating Gulf hostilities
Tehran’s retaliation against consecutive nights of US strikes targets American installations in Gulf states, further destabilising the Strait of Hormuz and shattering recent ceasefire efforts.
Iran launched multiple waves of missile and drone attacks against Kuwait and Bahrain on Sunday, igniting a fire at a Kuwaiti power and water plant and prompting interceptions by Jordanian and Israeli forces. The strikes represent a significant escalation in hostilities that resumed this month, effectively dismantling a US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding signed last month to extend an April ceasefire and gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy condemned the “heinous Iranian aggression” following the blaze at the facility. Bahrain’s military stated its air defences had successfully thwarted “treacherous” attacks on the island nation. Both countries host critical US military infrastructure, including Camp al-Adiri and Ali Al Salem airbase, which Iran’s army claimed were specific targets of its Sunday offensive. In a statement via the IRIB broadcaster, Iran’s army vowed that its soldiers would remain “firm and steadfast” in defending the Iranian people against what it termed enemies of the state.
The attacks followed an eighth consecutive night of US military operations on Iranian territory. Washington stated these strikes aimed to punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces responsible for earlier attacks in Jordan that killed two US service members, and to degrade Iran’s capacity to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media reported that US strikes targeted areas in Hormozgan and Khuzestan provinces, as well as Qeshm Island. Al Jazeera reporter Tohid Asadi noted from Tehran that the intensity of the US strikes was lower than in previous nights.
Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have intensified as a primary point of contention. Iran’s army reported stopping two ships in the waterway, alleging they attempted to use an “unsafe route” and were involved in an unspecified accident. This stands in direct opposition to the US position, which has reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports, asserting that Iran does not control the waterway. The status of the strait remains a flashpoint, with Iranian officials maintaining their right to manage shipping traffic despite the recent diplomatic agreement.
Compounding the regional instability, an Iranian missile fired towards the Jordanian city of Aqaba triggered sirens before being intercepted by joint Israeli and Jordanian forces. Meanwhile, Iran’s nuclear energy agency accused the US of attacking an under-construction nuclear power plant in the south-west, describing the action as a breach of international law. Paul Musgrave, a professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, observed an asymmetry in the conflict, noting that while Tehran views the war as existential, the United States and Israel treat it as a matter of policy choices.
