U.S. Strikes Iranian Facilities as Iran Fires at Kuwait and Bahrain

The U.S. military struck targets inside Iran overnight, between Friday and Saturday, and intercepted about four Iranian drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command. After the strikes, Iran fired seven ballistic missiles at American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Around 2:00 a.m., U.S. Central Command issued a statement saying the U.S. military had intercepted four suicide drones that were on their way to strike vessels in the area. The statement also said the U.S. military struck Iranian radar facilities in the Sirik area and on Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz. Three hours later, Bahrain and Kuwait reported a missile attack on their territory.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had attacked in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the recent American strikes. “Following the attack by the United States military on Sirik Island and Qeshm Island, enemy bases in the area were hit by ballistic missiles,” the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement.

U.S. Central Command denied the Revolutionary Guards’ statement and said U.S. forces intercepted several ballistic missiles and Iranian drones launched by Iran toward the Strait of Hormuz and neighboring Gulf states. Initial assessments indicate that six of the missiles launched by Iran were intercepted and that the seventh did not reach its target. There are currently no reports of injuries to American personnel. “Iranian claims of a strike on the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain are false,” the statement said. “CENTCOM forces remain vigilant and prepared to continue responding in self-defense to unjustified Iranian aggression.”

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement this morning condemning the “unjustified Iranian attacks.” “Security is not based on missiles and drones, and stability is not protected by laying mines,” the Bahraini Foreign Ministry said. Bahrain also urged Iran “to move toward peace, fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz without restrictions or taxes, reveal the locations where naval mines were laid, and cooperate in removing them.”

Kuwait also strongly condemned the attack on its territory. “These attacks constitute a clear violation of Kuwait’s sovereignty and a dangerous escalation that pushes the region toward more tension and unrest, at a time when the international community is making great efforts to stop the fighting and prevent further escalation in the region,” the statement said. “Kuwait reserves the right to take all necessary measures to protect its security, its territory and its vital facilities against any aggression or threat.”

Minutes before the nighttime tensions began, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was desperate to make a deal and wanted to recalibrate, but that its pride was holding it back. In an interview with NBC, the U.S. president repeated that the nuclear deal signed by President Obama with Iran was a disaster that led to nuclear weapons, and stressed that reaching a new and stable agreement would take time. He said the U.S. military had almost completely eliminated Tehran’s military capabilities, and that most missile factories, launch sites and drone factories had been destroyed. In his assessment, Iran now has slightly more than one fifth of the missile array it originally possessed.