Kuwait and Bahrain repel fresh attacks amid escalating Iran-US confrontation
Screengrab from a video shared on social media by the US military's Central Command shows US Navy warships and jets patrolling waters across the Middle East amid Iran's threats to attack targets in neighboring states. (X: @CENTCOM)
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Updated 09 July 2026 05:55
Agencies
July 09, 202603:57
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- Qatar briefly issued a security alert before its Interior Ministry announced that the threat had ended
- Fresh strikes raise fears of wider Gulf conflict after US attacks on Iran
KUWAIT/MANAMA: Kuwait and Bahrain said their air defenses were responding “hostile missile and drone attacks” early Thursday, hours after the Iranian military vowed to hit back in response to another round of US airstrikes against Iran.
“The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosions heard are a result of air defense systems intercepting hostile attacks,” the Kuwait military said in a post on X, without specifying their origin.
Explosions were heard in Bahrain’s capital on Thursday, an AFP correspondent in Manama said, moments after authorities sounded air raid sirens to warn of an attack.
Qatar also issued an alert but the Ministry of Interior, in a statement carried by the Qatar News Agency, later announced “the end of the security threat.”
The attacks came after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed to retaliate following another round of US strikes on Iranian territory.
Iranian state media later reported that the Guards had launched missiles and drones targeting two US military bases in Kuwait and two in Bahrain.
A day earlier, Kuwait’s military said it had intercepted two missiles and 13 drones launched from Iran, underscoring the growing frequency of cross-border attacks as the confrontation between Tehran and Washington intensifies.
The latest strikes follow Iranian attacks earlier this week on US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, which drew widespread international condemnation and heightened concerns that the conflict could spread across the Gulf.
Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the attacks, describing them as violations of the sovereignty of Kuwait and Bahrain and breaches of international law. The Kingdom called on Iran to immediately halt what it described as repeated acts of aggression and warned that continued escalation threatened regional security and stability.
The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and Oman also condemned the earlier attacks, urging restraint and renewed diplomatic efforts to prevent a wider regional conflict. China likewise called on both Washington and Tehran to avoid reigniting war and to return to dialogue.
The latest exchange comes as regional mediation efforts face mounting pressure after recent US-Iran understandings appeared to unravel following renewed military action. The conflict has also disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in recent days have further raised concerns over the security of one of the world’s busiest energy corridors.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2650194/middle-east
