Iran said it had attacked US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain on Thursday, in retaliation for what US Central Command described as the “second day” of its self-defence strikes against Iranian targets, Ada Derana reported citing the BBC.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait were a direct response to Wednesday’s renewed US air campaign on Iran. Iran’s military command also said it had targeted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz during the day’s flare-up, and Iranian state media reported that two oil tankers passing through the strait had been hit. There was no immediate independent confirmation. CENTCOM said commercial shipping was “continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz” despite the announced full Iranian closure of the waterway.
Kuwait temporarily closed its airspace shortly after the IRGC announcement, with flights diverted, Reuters and the Kuwait News Agency reported. The country’s air defences had earlier intercepted “hostile objects”, the state agency said. The closure is the second in less than a week — Kuwait had briefly shut its airspace on Saturday before reopening at 6:15am, after a similar Iranian missile and drone wave.
The exchange marks the second consecutive day of direct US–Iran military action since Monday’s downing of a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz and the first wave of CENTCOM retaliation strikes. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said further bombs would be “dropping on key facilities in Iran” if no deal was reached, while President Donald Trump warned Tehran would “have to pay the price” for stalling. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran “will stand firm against any pressure or threat”.
UN Secretary General António Guterres said the Middle East was “being pulled deeper into crisis” and warned that the April ceasefire had become “more like a lesser-fire”. “We should not minimize the risks of lesser fire becoming full fire. All parties must work towards a diplomatic settlement. No more attacks. No more excuses,” he said. Oil rebounded above $95 a barrel after the closure and the tanker reports, extending Brent’s recovery from its early-June low.
For Sri Lanka, the widening of the conflict to two Gulf states with significant Sri Lankan migrant-worker populations adds a new dimension of consular risk on top of the fuel-supply pressure that has driven the war’s economic spillover since February.
Sources: Ada Derana — Tehran targets US Gulf bases after American forces launch new strikes on Iran, Ada Derana — Kuwait temporarily closes airspace, Newswire.
