Kuwait said its air defences intercepted hostile aerial targets while Bahrain activated emergency sirens after Iran claimed missile and drone strikes on US military bases…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Kuwait said on Monday that its armed forces were intercepting hostile aerial targets within the country’s airspace, while neighbouring Bahrain activated emergency sirens and urged residents to move to safe locations, following Iran’s claimed retaliatory strikes against US military bases in the Gulf.
The heightened security measures came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had launched missile and drone attacks targeting US military installations in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait in response to the latest US airstrikes on southern Iran.
In a statement posted on X, the Kuwait Army said its air defence systems were actively responding to aerial threats and urged the public to follow official safety instructions.
“The Armed Forces are currently confronting hostile aerial targets within Kuwaiti airspace. The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosion sounds, if heard, are the result of air defence systems intercepting hostile attacks. Everyone is requested to adhere to the security and safety instructions issued by the competent authorities,” the Kuwait Army said.
Bahrain also issued a public warning after emergency sirens were activated across the country.
In a post on X, Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said: “The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.”
The latest escalation followed fresh US military strikes on southern Iran, which Washington said were carried out after Iranian forces attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, the IRGC said its retaliatory operation was launched after the US attacks and involved multiple phases targeting American military assets across the region.
The IRGC claimed it had earlier intercepted two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz after accusing them of switching off their tracking systems and taking an unauthorised route through the strategic waterway.
It said the first phase of its operation targeted the Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan using missiles and drones.
The second phase, according to the IRGC, struck the US military facilities at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.
The force claimed it had targeted helicopter maintenance facilities, a hangar housing a P-8 electronic warfare aircraft and the command-and-control centre for US drone operations at the base.
The IRGC further stated that the third and fourth phases of the operation were directed at US military installations in Kuwait.
It claimed to have destroyed fuel storage tanks and a Patriot air defence system at Ali Al Salem Air Base, as well as an FPS strategic radar system at Ahmad Al Jaber Air Base.
The IRGC also claimed its ground forces attacked a US Army surface-to-surface missile base in Kuwait, destroying two HIMARS missile launchers and missile ammunition depots.
The claims made by the IRGC have not been independently verified.
In its statement, the IRGC described the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian territory and said it would not allow what it called a “rogue, child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference there.”
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most strategically important maritime routes, carrying a significant share of global oil exports and commercial shipping. Any disruption to traffic through the narrow waterway has the potential to affect international trade, energy supplies and global financial markets.
The latest exchange of strikes marks a further escalation in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran, raising concerns of a wider regional conflict involving several Gulf states
