Wider Middle East war? Kuwait, Bahrain targeted Iran this month with UAE’s backing: Report

Since the start of its conflict with the United States (US), Iran has repeatedly targeted its neighbours in the Middle East, where American military forces are stationed. For much of the over four-month-long conflict, Gulf nations refrained from retaliating, but that changed this month when Kuwait and Bahrain carried out their first strikes against Iran.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Kuwait and Bahrain targeted Iran’s drone and missile facilities, and other military sites earlier this month in retaliation to Tehran’s continued strikes against them. For this operation, the intelligence was provided by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Citing people familiar with the development, the report said Bahrain and Kuwait have smaller air forces that are equipped with American and European fighter jets. They initially stayed away from engaging in a direct conflict with Iran, but decided to conduct the strikes after repeated Iranian attacks.

The strikes by Bahrain and Kuwait mark a significant expansion of a conflict that had largely remained confined to the US and Iran, raising fears of further destabilisation in a Middle East already scarred by decades of war.

US bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait targeted again by Iran

While The Wall Street Journal did not state if the Gulf nations have further plans to continue their strikes, Iran’s military on Friday said that it carried out fresh strikes targeting US military assets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

According to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a data centre belonging to Amazon was targeted in Bahrain. Similarly, US equipment warehouses and military sites were targeted at Camp Udairi, Camp Doha and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

In Jordan, the Iranian forces struck the Al-Azraq base, targeting “aircraft hangars, aviation maintenance hangars and a barracks”. No casualty was reported in these strikes, but the Gulf nations have once again condemned Islamic Republic move. 

“For every proud citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran who is martyred, one American service member will be sent to hell,” Ali Abdollahi, head of Khatam al-Anbiya central military command, was quoted by AFP as saying.

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