On 3 June 2026, a combined wave of drones and ballistic missiles attributed to Iran targeted sites in Kuwait and Bahrain. In Kuwait, the military says it intercepted thirteen ballistic missiles and seventeen drones, but at least one device struck Terminal 1 of the international airport, killing an Indian national and injuring 63 people, seven of whom required emergency surgery. In Bahrain, facilities hosting the US Fifth Fleet were also targeted and several projectiles intercepted. Within 24 hours, Kuwait expelled two Iranian diplomats and declared its chargé d'affaires persona non grata.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards described the strikes as retaliation for a US operation on Qeshm Island, in the Strait of Hormuz, where the American command says it hit a ground-control station. The attack comes as a truce reached on 8 April, meant to pave the way for a nuclear deal and the reopening of Hormuz, is being renegotiated. Markets reacted sharply: Wall Street fell by about 600 points and oil tightened, with some observers warning that a prolonged closure of the strait would send prices soaring.
Several points remain disputed. Kuwaiti and US authorities attribute the terminal's destruction to an Iranian drone, while Tehran maintains that a malfunctioning American Patriot missile crashed into the building. Actors also diverge on the state of the truce: Washington says negotiations are continuing, while the Iranian side laments the lack of tangible progress and some Gulf capitals speak openly of a breakdown. Whether Hormuz can reopen, and at what cost, remains an open question.
