Kuwait airport hit by drones and missiles amid escalating US-Iran tensions
Hormuz reopening, sanctions relief and uranium dispute still block peace deal
Continued Gulf attacks raise risks for energy markets and regional stability
Kuwait's international airport was struck by drones and missiles on Wednesday morning, according to the country's state news agency KUNA. The attack caused injuries, significant structural damage to the Terminal 1 building and forced the suspension and diversion of flights.
Kuwait's Ministry of Defence spokesman Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan described it as "criminal Iranian aggression," though he did not specify the number of casualties, saying those wounded had received medical care.
Bahrain also reported attacks, with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming it had struck the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and a regional airbase. US Central Command flatly denied the claims. "FALSE. All Iranian attacks on American forces failed," CENTCOM posted on X, saying it had successfully defeated a series of Iranian missile and drone strikes across the Gulf.
In response, the US military carried out what it described as defensive strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island. The IRGC subsequently claimed its attacks on US installations had been launched in retaliation for the Qeshm strike — a cycle of action and counter-action that has become a recurring pattern since hostilities began on February 28.
Deal Remains Unsigned
The fresh fighting arrives as diplomacy appears to be going in circles. Trump has on multiple occasions declared that a deal between the two countries had been largely reached, only for Iran to dispute the characterisation and both sides to resume trading proposals and strikes.
No agreement has been signed, and the specific sticking points — Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, the terms of the Strait of Hormuz reopening, sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Iranian assets — remain unresolved.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global energy supplies normally flow, remains largely closed to commercial shipping, continuing to weigh on oil markets and the broader global economy. With exchanges of fire persisting and no formal framework in place, the window for an early deal appears to be narrowing.
