Iranian Missile and Drone Attack Shuts Kuwait International Airport, Killing One and Injuring Dozens

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – Kuwait International Airport was temporarily shut down Wednesday after Iran launched a major ballistic missile and drone attack that struck civilian infrastructure, damaged airport facilities and diplomatic missions, and left one person dead and dozens injured, Kuwaiti authorities said.

The dawn assault marked one of the most serious escalations in the Gulf since the United States and Iran entered a fragile ceasefire in April. Kuwaiti officials said air defenses engaged 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones during the attack, which caused significant damage at Terminal One and forced civil aviation authorities to suspend air traffic and divert incoming flights to unaffected airports.

Kuwait’s Health Ministry said one Indian national was killed and 63 others were injured, including several seriously. Area hospitals performed seven major emergency surgeries following the strike, underscoring the scale of attack.

Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan, a spokesman for Kuwait’s Defense Ministry, called the attack “criminal Iranian aggression,” saying it caused “significant material damage” and civilian injuries.

The attack followed a sharp exchange of fire between the United States and Iran after American forces disabled an empty oil tanker, the Lexi, which U.S. Central Command said was attempting to breach a blockade and load Iranian oil at Kharg Island. CENTCOM said a U.S. aircraft fired a Hellfire missile into the vessel’s engine room after repeated warnings.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused Washington of triggering the latest round of fighting and said Iranian forces responded with missile and drone attacks against U.S.-linked targets in the Gulf. Tehran also claimed it targeted the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, though CENTCOM denied the claim and said all Iranian attacks on American forces had failed.

U.S. officials said Iran also launched one-way attack drones at civilian mariners transiting the Persian Gulf. American forces shot down three drones and carried out what CENTCOM described as self-defense strikes against Iranian military ground control stations on Qeshm Island, a strategically positioned island near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran later fired ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, both of which host U.S. military facilities. CENTCOM said several missiles were intercepted or failed before reaching their targets, and no American personnel were harmed.

Bahrain’s defense forces said Wednesday that air defenses intercepted and destroyed three missiles and several drones targeting civilian facilities. No immediate injuries or material damage were reported there.

Kuwait has been especially vulnerable throughout the conflict because of its proximity to Iraq, where Iran-backed Shiite militias have been accused of launching attacks. Kuwaiti officials believe at least half of the drone attacks that struck the country in March and early April originated from Iranian-backed militia positions inside Iraq.

Those earlier attacks destroyed fuel tanks and damaged radar systems at Kuwait International Airport, forcing an extended closure that lasted weeks. The airport only began gradually reopening in late April, later than several neighboring Gulf states.

Despite the scale of the latest barrage, CENTCOM said Tuesday night that the broader ceasefire with Iran remained “ongoing.” Yet Wednesday’s strike showed how fragile that truce has become, with both sides repeatedly engaging in limited but dangerous exchanges while avoiding a full return to open war.

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