Iran strikes US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain hours after American airstrikes

Iran launched missile and drone strikes against US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain within hours of a large-scale American airstrike campaign, sending the Middle East into rapid deterioration. The exchange came after tensions between Washington and Tehran over a ceasefire memorandum of understanding broke into open armed conflict.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Wednesday in a statement broadcast on state television that it had struck US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, according to AFP and other news agencies.

"As an initial response to this aggression, the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force conducted a joint operation, striking 85 key US military facilities in the two countries with missiles and drones," the IRGC said. It also claimed to have shot down one US MQ-9 drone.

Kuwait and Bahrain activated their air defense systems in the early hours of Wednesday in response to the incoming missile and drone attacks.

Kuwait's military said on social media platform X that its air defenses were "responding to hostile missile and drone attacks," adding that the explosions heard in the country were the result of its defense systems intercepting enemy projectiles.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry issued an air raid alert, urging "citizens and residents to remain calm and evacuate to the nearest safe location." Foreign media reported multiple explosions near the Bahraini capital Manama.

The strikes came just hours after US forces carried out precision attacks on more than 80 military targets inside Iran in retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command said it struck more than 80 Iranian military targets — including air defense systems, command-and-control facilities, coastal radar stations, anti-ship missile batteries and IRGC fast boats — in response to Iran's attacks on civilian commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington said Iran's attacks on commercial vessels violated the ceasefire MOU between the two countries, and alongside the airstrikes, revoked sanctions exemptions on Iranian oil exports.

Iran's military accused the United States of breaking the agreement first and warned of a "lethal response." It followed through within hours, launching a large-scale retaliatory strike on US bases.

Iran also reaffirmed its hardline stance on passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

"We will not tolerate American interference," the Iranian military said, claiming that "the only route available to commercial ships and oil tankers is the one designated by Iran."

As both sides trade military blows, tensions over the Strait of Hormuz have surged back to their highest point. Concern is growing in the international community that the conflict could escalate and spread across the broader Gulf region.