Iran Strikes Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan in Gulf-Wide Retaliation
Tehran launched a fresh wave of missiles and drones at American allies across the Gulf overnight, sounding air-raid sirens in Bahrain’s capital and striking Kuwait for a second straight day. The Revolutionary Guard said it had fired ballistic missiles at US aircraft at Jordan’s Aqaba airport, claiming “heavy damage”, and had hit the Ali al-Salem airbase in Kuwait. Jordan said its air defences downed several missiles without casualties.
Iran’s stated doctrine is to strike back at American regional assets for as long as US attacks continue, dragging Gulf monarchies into a war they have laboured to avoid. Kuwait has now had a power and desalination plant hit twice; Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet; and the repeated targeting of Jordan, which borders Israel and relies on American air defences, carries the sharpest escalation risk. The Guard declared the strait “unsafe for the transport of… a single drop of oil and gas”. Watch whether any Gulf state closes its airspace or invokes collective defence, and whether Iranian missiles reach Saudi or Emirati territory.