(July 15): Iran launched the heaviest wave of strikes against Kuwait in weeks as the US reinstated a blockade on US ports and regional tensions escalate.
Four Kuwaiti navy personnel were injured in the overnight attacks, the army said, with Iran stepping up its assault on US allies in the Gulf after an interim peace deal between Tehran and Washington effectively collapsed.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence said the strikes, which began on Tuesday evening, involved five cruise and one ballistic missile as well as 33 drones. That marked the highest number of projectiles and injuries on any given day since the country’s international airport was attacked for a second time in June, killing one person and injuring more than 60.
Kuwait is one of the richest countries in the world but its economy has been shaken by the war, with exports slumping after the Strait of Hormuz was closed. The fiscal deficit surged in the year through March and the economy will contract around 7.9% in 2026, according to a Bloomberg News survey from last month.
Iran’s latest assault concentrated on a number of “vital” and civilian institutions, the Kuwaiti army said, without providing details. Damage was caused by falling debris in various locations and the four defence personnel were hurt when a Kuwaiti navy ship was struck. The army said it continued to respond to drone attacks on Wednesday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said late on Tuesday it targeted multiple US facilities and aircraft in Bahrain and Kuwait, and that the attacks were in response to recent US strikes on several coastal positions of the Iranian armed forces.
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Kuwait has been one of the worst-hit countries in the region during the war, with its military bases, oil refineries, the headquarters of Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the airport and other critical infrastructure coming under assault multiple times.
A drone attack earlier this week targeted an offshore drilling platform of Kuwait Oil Co, causing damage and injuring one worker, while attacks on three northern border sites also resulted in damage.
The oil-rich state has been the target of at least 17 attacks since the US and Iran agreed to a truce on April 8, experiencing more casualties than any other Gulf Arab country in that period.
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That ceasefire has now collapsed, with fresh attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz as well as other countries in the region including Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain in recent days. Tankers from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar have also come under fire.
Since the Gulf War of the early 1990s that freed it from Iraqi occupation, Kuwait has hosted thousands of US military personnel. They have a presence at five Kuwaiti bases, including Ali Al-Salem, which has been repeatedly struck since the war on Iran erupted at the end of February.
The US announced on Tuesday it had resumed its blockade on Iranian shipping to and from its ports and coastal areas, effective at 4pm Washington time. US forces also launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iranian targets, meant to degrade its abilities to hit commercial ships in the strait.
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