Kuwait closed its airspace and activated its air defence systems on Thursday after Iran launched strikes on US military bases in the country, triggering flight diversions across the Gulf region and raising alarm over civilian aviation safety.
The Kuwait Army's General Staff announced on its official X account that "air defense systems are currently intercepting hostile aerial targets in accordance with the adopted operational procedures."
It urged citizens and residents to "adhere to the security and safety instructions and guidelines issued by the competent authorities, and to obtain information from the approved official sources."
AP reported that Kuwait's air defence systems were firing in response to Iran's threatened retaliation for US strikes on Iranian territory.
The airspace closure sent shockwaves through regional aviation, with flights to and from Kuwait diverted as the interception operations were underway. The disruption added to a growing list of Gulf aviation casualties from the conflict, with flights in and out of UAE, Jordan and Bahrain also affected as the fighting spread across the region.
The strikes on Kuwait came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted 18 "important" US military-related sites at the Ali Al-Salem and Ahmed Al-Jaber bases in Kuwait and Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain as part of its retaliatory operations against American military action, Al Jazeera reported.
Bahrain had earlier activated alarm sirens across the country, with its interior ministry urging citizens and residents to head to the nearest safe location.
The escalation followed fresh US Central Command strikes on Iranian territory on Wednesday, in which Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy assets fired precision munitions at Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defence sites.
Iran responded by ordering the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all vessel traffic, warning that any ship attempting to transit the waterway would be targeted.
US President Trump, meanwhile, warned that bombing would pause but resume the following day if Iran failed to sign a deal, telling media that failure to comply would mean the US would "bomb the shit out of them."
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