DUBAI — Iran launched missile and drone attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday in retaliation for recent U.S. airstrikes on Iranian military sites, marking a sharp escalation in regional tensions and raising new concerns over the stability of a fragile diplomatic process to end the conflict.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted U.S. military facilities, including the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters area in Bahrain, according to statements carried by Iranian state media.
Bahrain said an Iranian drone struck a residential building, causing limited damage, and condemned the attack as a violation of its sovereignty. Kuwaiti authorities said air defenses intercepted incoming missiles and described the strikes as an infringement of the country's sovereignty. Both governments said they were assessing the situation, while details of any casualties or additional damage remained unclear.
The attacks followed U.S. strikes on Iranian military infrastructure that U.S. Central Command said were carried out in response to what it described as continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington said the strikes targeted military communications, air defense and drone-related facilities.
Iran also warned that negotiations aimed at ending the conflict could come to a "complete halt" if U.S. military operations continued, according to Iranian officials.
The United States had not immediately reported casualties among its personnel. Authorities in Bahrain and Kuwait continued to assess the impact of the attacks, while governments across the Gulf monitored the rapidly developing situation.
