Iran slams Kuwait airport in response to US attacks as ceasefire comes under pressure

“Iran slams Kuwait airport in response to US attacks as ceasefire comes under pressure Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 06/03/2026 - 16:32 Fighting flared up after the US attacked an empty oil tanker trying to make a port call in Iran This video grab, taken from images posted on social media, appears to show damage at Kuwait's international airport following an attack, on 3 June 2026 (UGC/Unknown/AFP) Off Kuwait has denied that its airspace was used to launch strikes on Iran after its airport was struck by a heavy barrage of missiles and drones by Iran on Tuesday night that killed at least one person and injured 63 people. Video footage from the airport showed extensive damage, with fires raging in Terminal One, the roof collapsed, and billowing clouds of smoke. After the attacks, Kuwaiti defence ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Saud al-Otayan condemned what he described as “criminal Iranian aggression”. The attack came after the US fired at an empty oil tanker that it said was trying to call at an Iranian port. The US has imposed a blockade on Iranian shipping in response to Tehran wresting control of the Strait of Hormuz. US officials said that Iran fired on US sailors in response to that strike. The US then launched strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island. “In response to this aggression, the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, which hosts helicopters, as well as the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, were targeted with missiles and drones by the Guards' forces," the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement on its official Telegram channel. Earlier in the day, the US military said it had "successfully defeated" a series of Iranian missile and drone attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain and conducted strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island. Kuwait denied the US used its territory to launch strikes and summoned Iran's charge d’affaires to protest against the attack. In response, Kuwait demanded that two Iranian embassy staff members leave the country within 24 hours. Kuwait repeatedly targeted Kuwait suffered some of the heaviest attacks since Iran first launched strikes on the Gulf states in retaliation against the US and Israeli attack on Iran that began on 28 February. Kuwait is home to an estimated 13,500 US troops, one of the largest deployments in the Gulf. Kuwait and other Gulf states lobbied the US against attacking Iran earlier this year, but some states, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, pivoted to supporting the US offensive with various levels of intensity. The UAE launched dozens of strikes on Iran. Saudi Arabia gave the US expanded basing access, but then pivoted to supporting diplomatic talks mediated by its close ally, Pakistan. Rubio says US will only provide sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for nuclear concessions Read More » The ceasefire between the US and Iran has appeared shakier in recent weeks. US President Donald Trump has said that the two sides are close to a deal, only for Iran to deny his public statements that it is willing to negotiate away its nuclear programme or abandon efforts to impose transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz. As fighting flares up again, Kuwait has found itself caught in the crossfire. The country, home to around five million people, lacks the military heft of the UAE and Saudi Arabia and is less diplomatically active than Qatar. Trump said on Tuesday that the US and Iran were still talking after Iran’s Tasnim News Agency said Tehran had cut off all contact with the US, but talks are stalled over the issue of opening the Strait of Hormuz and sanctions relief for Iran. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran would only receive sanctions relief if it surrenders its nuclear programme, brushing aside Tehran’s demands to obtain economic relief as part of a phased ceasefire. "Iran is being sanctioned because they've highly enriched uranium. Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities; if they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. “They have to agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations and/or cancellation of enrichment activity,” he said. Rubio said that Iran was now negotiating over aspects of its nuclear programme that it had previously not considered, but did not provide any details. Iran said on Friday that “no negotiations" were taking place over its nuclear programme. Rubio’s comments suggest the US is not close to releasing billions of dollars in frozen funds, which Tehran has requested to seal a ceasefire extension. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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