Iran’s military claimed Friday morning that it had attacked U.S. military targets in Kuwait with drones. According to the military, the strikes targeted “fighter jet shelters, satellite communications systems and equipment storage facilities at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base.”
U.S. Central Command had not responded to the claim, and no American strikes were reported overnight.
Damage from the US strike on Qeshm Island
Kuwaiti state media also had not confirmed the alleged Iranian attack.
Tehran described the operation as retaliation for “the latest aggression against us by the terrorist American military and its brutal attack on a community on Qeshm Island.” Iranian media reported Thursday that three members of one family were killed in strikes on the island, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Qeshm Island attack was part of a wave of U.S. strikes overnight Wednesday into Thursday, the first American attacks in Iran after a six-day pause. U.S. Central Command described the operation as “a powerful response to Iran’s attempts to attack American forces stationed in the Middle East.”
Hours later Thursday morning, Iran launched five missiles toward Jordan, which said all were intercepted.
Alongside the exchanges of fire, Pakistan, which is mediating between Washington and Tehran, said the sides were engaged in negotiations. Pakistan said it was doing “everything in its power to return all parties to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding,” signed in mid-June.
Meanwhile, with ships still largely avoiding the Strait of Hormuz because of the war between the United States and Iran, the Saudi Defense Ministry said Thursday that 14 countries had backed the kingdom’s proposal to establish a “maritime defense alliance” to protect international shipping lanes and global trade, CNN reported.