Summary: Iran has launched multiple waves of missile and drone strikes against Gulf countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar, in response to ongoing military attacks by the United States and Israel. The assaults have targeted both military assets and civilian infrastructure, including energy facilities, resulting in casualties and disrupting global oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The US and Israel have pledged to continue their military campaign, while Gulf states have condemned Iran's actions and asserted their right to self-defense.
Main Topics Covered:
1. Escalating military conflict between Iran and the US/Israel alliance.
2. Iranian retaliatory strikes on multiple Gulf states and their infrastructure.
3. Impact on global energy markets and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
4. Diplomatic and security responses from affected Gulf nations and the US.
Iran fires more missiles, drones across Gulf region amid US-Israeli attacks
Gulf countries face continued barrage of Iranian attacks as US, Israel pledge to continue military assault against Iran.
Gulf countries remain on high alert as Iran has launched several waves of drone and missile strikes across the region in response to continued attacks by the United States and Israel.
Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates faced a barrage of Iranian attacks late on Thursday, with the Kuwaiti army’s general staff saying in a social media post that air defences were intercepting projectiles in the country’s airspace.
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Earlier in the day, Qatar’s Ministry of Defence said the country was targeted in several attacks, including 14 ballistic missiles and four drones coming from Iran.
Iran initially began striking US military assets in the Gulf region but later expanded to include civilian installations after the US and Israel launched a war against the country on Saturday, killing at least 1,230 people to date, according to the latest figures cited by Iranian state media.
Iran’s attacks, which have increasingly targeted energy infrastructure, have killed at least six US service members as well as 11 people in Israel and three others in the UAE.
Oil and gas prices have soared as tankers are stuck near the Strait of Hormuz amid attacks on ships passing through one of the most important waterways in the world. Some 20 percent of the world’s crude passes through the strait.
Reporting from the Qatari capital Doha, Al Jazeera’s Laura Khan said “air defence missiles [were] lighting up the night sky in Abu Dhabi” on Thursday.
“We know that at least 131 drones were sent earlier in the day into the United Arab Emirates, and at least six ballistic missiles,” Khan said.
“The United Arab Emirates has really had its air defence systems put to the test by the continuous volley – especially of drones, but also ballistic and cruise missiles, continually hitting the country in the past six days.”
Meanwhile, in Bahrain, the country’s main oil refinery was hit in an Iranian missile strike, sparking a fire that was quickly brought under control, local authorities said.
Officials said no injuries were reported at the Bapco Energies facility on the island of Sitra, and operations were continuing as the extent of the damage was under review.
Arab Gulf leaders have condemned Iran’s strikes as a violation of international law, saying in a joint statement with the US this week that they reaffirmed their “right to self-defence in the face of these attacks”.
Meanwhile, the US – which has pledged to continue its military assault on Iran – has suspended services at some diplomatic missions in the region that have come under attack in recent days, including in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
On Thursday, the US Department of State announced it was suspending operations at its embassy in Kuwait City amid the war.
Meridiano
