Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday suspended and diverted all flights after a drone and missile attack struck its T1 building, wounding several people.
Kuwait’s General Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that arriving flights were rerouted to alternative regional airports following the incident. Ministry of Defence spokesperson Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi condemned the strike, characterising it as “criminal Iranian aggression which resulted in significant material damage to the building and injuries”.
The Kuwaiti military separately announced that its air defence systems intercepted multiple hostile missile and drone attacks. In a statement published on X, the military stated, “Any sounds of explosions heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting these hostile attacks.”
While it did not initially provide any details on the origin of the weapons, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that the attacks targeted US bases located in Kuwait.
According to the IRGC, the operations were launched following what it described as an American strike on Qeshm Island in southern Iran. US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed it “successfully defeated” a series of Iranian missile and drone attacks across the Gulf region and conducted self-defense strikes on Qeshm Island.
CENTCOM denied separate claims made by the IRGC regarding successful strikes on the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and an additional regional airbase.
“Iran launched several ballistic missiles toward regional neighbors; however, all failed to hit their intended targets,” CENTCOM said in an official statement.
The US military further stated that an “additional wave of Iranian drones attempting to attack US forces in Kuwait failed to impact intended targets”, noting that multiple drones were shot down.
CENTCOM added that the US military shot down three attack drones launched by Iran “toward civilian mariners that were rightfully transiting regional waters”.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump dismissed media reports claiming that Washington and Tehran had ceased communications, calling the reports “false and erroneous”.
“The conversations between us have been going on continuously,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
“Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a deal. You’ve been doing this for 47 years, and it cannot be allowed to go on any longer!’,” Trump added.
Earlier, a high-ranking Iranian military official stated that Iran has yet to reveal all of its “winning cards” and stands ready for a potential confrontation. Iran’s State broadcaster Press TV quoted Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, from the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, responding to Western and American assertions regarding vulnerabilities in Iran’s defence systems.
“The facilities we now use to manufacture military equipment and support the Armed Forces are completely hidden from the enemy’s view. They have no knowledge of their locations. Therefore, our situation in defence production is acceptable,” he added.
