kuwaiT city (AFP) — A drone strike on a passenger terminal in Kuwait’s international airport wounded several people Wednesday and forced air traffic to be suspended, as Iranian and United States forces traded attacks in the Gulf.
Kuwait’s foreign ministry condemned the attacks “that once again targeted vital and civilian infrastructure, including Kuwait International Airport, killing one person and injuring others, in addition to causing damage to vital infrastructure including diplomatic missions.”
The attacks marked one of the more severe tests yet of a fragile 8 April ceasefire, that has largely held despite sporadic strikes after more than a month of war sparked by the US and Israeli attack on Iran.
Kuwaiti officials blamed the attack on the airport on Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards accused US forces of triggering the night’s sequence of attacks by targeting a communications tower on the country’s Qeshm Island, forcing it to respond.
But, with Bahrain also complaining of an overnight drone attacks from Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) attempted to rally its Gulf neighbors in opposition to Tehran.
“In light of Iran’s repeated aggression against the sisterly states of Kuwait and Bahrain, a firm, unified, and cohesive Gulf stance is imperative,” UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash posted on social media.
“This aggression does not just target one country, it targets us all.”
Kuwait’s ministry of defense spokesperson Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan described the airport strikes as “criminal Iranian aggression which resulted in significant material damage to the building and injuries.”
Kuwait’s state news agency Kuna said the civil aviation authority had suspended air traffic and transferred arriving flights to alternative airports after “Terminal One came under Iranian attacks causing casualties and damage.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards did not confirm they had targeted the airport.
But a statement said that, in response to a US attack “their air base and helicopters located in one of the countries in the region, as well as the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, were attacked by missiles and drones from the IRGC Aerospace Force.”
Kuwait’s international airport was targeted several times during the war, and had only fully resumed operations on 1 June.
US forces on Tuesday fired a missile at a ship that was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port in violation of an American blockade, disabling the vessel, the US military said.
Washington has now forcibly halted six ships it said were attempting to violate the blockade, which has been in place since 13 April.
The Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie — an unladen oil tanker — “ignored repeated warnings” over a 24-hour period, and an American warplane “ultimately disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room,” the US military’s Central Command said.
The statement did not mention if the attack caused any casualties aboard the Lexie.
