Kuwait’s defence ministry said it detected and engaged 30 ballistic missiles and drones launched as part of a “heinous Iranian aggression” yesterday, while the foreign ministry said one person was killed in an Iranian attack targeting civilian facilities, including Kuwait International Airport and diplomatic missions.
The foreign ministry did not specify which diplomatic missions were affected.
Defence ministry spokesman Saud Abdulaziz Al Atwan said the armed forces had detected and engaged 13 hostile ballistic missiles in Kuwaiti airspace since dawn.
The missiles were intercepted over several residential areas, resulting in debris falling in some locations.
The military also detected and engaged 17 hostile drones, Al Atwan said, adding that “this heinous Iranian aggression” targeted civilian and vital facilities across the country.
Yesterday, Kuwait demanded that two Iranian embassy staff leave the country within 24 hours.
Kuwait’s deputy foreign affairs minister Hamad Suleiman Al Mashaan summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in Kuwait, Hamed Hamid Yaqoubi Far, and “handed him an official protest note regarding the continued Iranian attacks and the decision to reduce the number of members of the Iranian embassy in the country and to consider two members of the Iranian diplomatic mission persona non grata, and request their departure from the territory of the State of Kuwait within a maximum period of 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement.
Kuwait also said that its territory and airspace were not used to attack “any country,” denying Iranian claims that the US launched strikes from there.
It said Tehran’s claims “are baseless and do not rely on evidence.”
The attack marked a major escalation for Kuwait, which had experienced relative calm since a ceasefire in the Iran war took effect on April 8.
Iran launched missiles and drones at Kuwait as well as several other Gulf states during the US-Israeli war with Iran which began on February 28.
The strike on Kuwait International Airport injured several people and forced authorities to divert flights, according to the state news agency.
The attack caused “severe damage” to the airport’s Terminal 1 building, it reported, citing the General Civil Aviation Authority.
Kuwait Airways said it would reschedule its flights.
Shortly afterward, the civil aviation authority announced that the national carrier had resumed operations from Terminal 4 after damage assessments were completed and safety measures were implemented.
Earlier, the US military said two Iranian missiles fired towards Kuwait either fell short or broke apart mid-flight, while three missiles launched at Bahrain were intercepted by US and Bahraini forces.
A further wave of Iranian drones targeting US forces in Kuwait failed to reach their intended targets, US Central Command said in a post on X, adding that Iranian ballistic missiles fired towards regional neighbours did not strike their targets.
In response, US forces carried out strikes on Qeshm Island and intercepted multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones.
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