Iran's military said on Thursday that it had carried out drone strikes targeting American bases and strategic sites across the Gulf marking a sharp widening of the conflict to include Qatar and Kuwait alongside Bahrain.
Al Jazeera reported that Iran's armed forces said the strikes, carried out roughly an hour earlier, had hit a Patriot missile air defence system in Kuwait, an early warning satellite antenna site in Qatar, and fuel tanks belonging to the US military in Bahrain.
The Iranian military said it had deployed "a large number of various types of drones" in the attacks, and vowed that Iran's armed forces "will not allow the goals and aspirations of the foolish President of the United States to be realised under any circumstances" and would defend the ideals of the Islamic Revolution "until final victory," the outlet reported.
Separately, Iran's Ministry of Health reportedly said US forces had struck five Iranian provinces over the preceding two days, killing 14 people and wounding 78 others.
The strikes on Gulf states prompted a swift diplomatic response from Doha.
Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, reportedly condemned the attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with the two reviewing developments around the military escalation between the US and Iran over the previous two days.
ALSO READ: Iran Takes US Strikes To UN Security Council, Demands 'Decisive Measures' Against Washington
A Qatari foreign ministry statement said the Prime Minister had stressed that such actions undermine confidence, threaten the security of international navigation, and damage efforts to consolidate regional security and stability.
The Qatari premier had pressed all parties to commit to dialogue and diplomacy and to implement what had been agreed under the framework of the interim US-Iran deal, while reiterating Doha's support for efforts aimed at containing the escalation and reaching a comprehensive agreement that ensures lasting peace in the region.
The reported strikes on Qatar and Kuwait, both hosts to major US military installations, raise the prospect of the conflict drawing in Gulf states that have so far sought to stay out of direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
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