ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait on Wednesday condemned Iran's missile and drone strikes on their territories, censuring them as a bid to derail regional peace efforts while reserving their right to respond. This comes as Tehran said the assaults were retaliation against what it claimed to be US interests in the region, including in Erbil.
The Kuwaiti foreign ministry expressed its “strong denunciation” of the Iranian “criminal attacks using missiles and hostile drones that targeted several sites in the country” including a “residential complex.”
The strikes fuel “a dangerous escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region and undermines diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalation and reducing tensions,” the ministry added, emphasizing the retention of “full right” to take “all necessary measures” to preserve Kuwait’s “sovereignty, protect its security and interests”
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday it carried out a combined missile and drone strike against the headquarters and residential quarters of the American commander at Ali al-Salem Base in Kuwait, claiming it killed “a number of enemy personnel.”
The IRGC also claimed to have destroyed a repair center, technical equipment warehouses, and fuel tanks in Erbil, along with what it described as “the guidance system for an American spy balloon at the base.”
The Erbil-based Counter-Terrorism Directorate (CTD) said US-led coalition forces shot down “ten explosive-laden drones” over the Kurdish capital.
Video footage obtained by Rudaw showed a small fire near Erbil International Airport following two loud explosions heard across the city early Wednesday.
Separately, the Iranian Army said it launched drone attacks targeting “radar systems and positions of American forces” at the al-Dhafra and al-Minhad bases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as “radar facilities and gathering points” of US forces at Sheikh Isa Base in Bahrain.
Manama said Wednesday its forces intercepted “a number of Iranian attacks,” accusing Tehran of “continuing its systematic hostile approach.”
Similarly, Jordan said its air defense systems “engaged 13 ballistic missiles” launched by Iran, three of which “landed in remote, uninhabited areas,” according to a military spokesperson quoted by state-run Jordan News Agency (Petra).
The escalation comes as the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday said its forces had "completed" a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets.
