One person was hurt and property damaged in several parts of Kuwait early Thursday after falling debris from air defense interceptions of an Iranian missile and drone barrage, the Kuwaiti military said.
At least three ballistic missiles, one cruise missile and 10 drones were “successfully intercepted and dealt with,” the Kuwait Army said in a statement, adding that the interceptions “resulted in material damage due to the fall of debris in several locations across the country, in addition to one human injury, where the injured person is receiving the necessary medical care, and their condition is stable.”
The army had said earlier Thursday that its air defense systems were “confronting hostile missile and drone attacks,” without initially identifying where the attacks originated. “The General Staff of the Army notes that if explosion sounds are heard, they are the result of air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks,” the military said in a social media post.
Bahrain was struck in the same wave. The Bahrain Defence Force said its air defense systems destroyed “a number” of incoming Iranian aerial attacks.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps claimed responsibility for the aerial assault on both Gulf states, describing it as retaliation for American strikes on Iranian territory, according to statements published by Iranian state media.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the strike, calling the continued Iranian attacks a flagrant violation of the country’s sovereignty and a reflection of what it described as a repeated hostile approach. The ministry has previously framed such attacks as a direct threat to national security and a breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.
The interceptions followed an intensifying exchange between Washington and Tehran. U.S. Central Command said American forces struck 90 Iranian military targets overnight, with the targets including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline. CENTCOM said the strikes “further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz.” The previous night, CENTCOM said U.S. forces hit approximately 80 Iranian military targets.
President Donald Trump announced “major combat operations” against Iran on February 28, launching joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian military, government and infrastructure sites. Delegations from both countries entered negotiations last month aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding, though the two sides exchanged limited strikes in late June despite the agreement and the continuation of peace talks.
Lead Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a social media post that the Strait of Hormuz would open only with “Iranian arrangements.” “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free,” he wrote in Persian. “Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit. Don’t flail around pointlessly, or you’ll sink even deeper.”
Since the start of the latest round of the conflict, Kuwait’s air defenses have intercepted 383 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 906 drones, according to figures released by the Kuwaiti military.
