Bahrain and Kuwait conducted airstrikes against targets inside Iran earlier this month, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The operation involved fighter jets from the two Gulf states and marked their first known direct military actions against Iranian territory.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Journal that the strikes focused on drone and missile storage depots along with other military sites. The United Arab Emirates supplied intelligence regarding the targets and provided defensive air cover during the operation.
Bahrain and Kuwait maintain relatively small air forces equipped primarily with aircraft from the United States and Europe. Officials in those countries determined that a response was necessary after weeks of Iranian attacks, according to the sources.
Neither Bahrain nor Kuwait has publicly confirmed the strikes, while government spokespeople for both countries did not respond to inquiries from the Journal.
Neither Bahrain nor Kuwait has publicly confirmed the strikes. Government spokespeople for both countries did not respond to inquiries from the Journal.
The reported strikes occurred against the backdrop of the ongoing regional conflict that began on February 28. Iran has directed a concentration of its missile and drone attacks toward Bahrain and Kuwait in recent weeks, as. org countries host significant United States military facilities:
Bahrain is the base for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, while Kuwait hosts thousands of American service members at multiple installations.
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry reported that Iran struck a power-generation and water-desalination facility over the weekend, characterizing the action as a dangerous escalation and a violation of international law. Bahrain and Kuwait have repeatedly activated air defense systems to intercept incoming Iranian missiles and drones, though in both countries have not reported large numbers of casualties resulting from these attacks.
The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, expressed solidarity with the two states, and called for reduced regional tensions along with the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States conducted additional strikes across Iran on Friday following Iranian attacks on American bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and other locations. Attacks did not continue throughout the night, however, which brought a streak of 13 consecutive nights of operations to a close.
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