Iran Strikes US Bases in Kuwait and UAE as Gulf Allies Condemn Retaliatory Attacks

Phase 31 of Iran's Saeqeh campaign

Iran's army said it launched the thirty-first phase of its Saeqeh operations early on Thursday, September 3, 2026, firing missiles and kamikaze drones at US-affiliated facilities in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. State television carried a statement claiming that satellite communications systems, equipment depots, and fighter aircraft hangars at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait were struck, while positions and radar systems at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE were also targeted.

Tehran framed the operation as direct retaliation for American strikes on Tuesday that Iran said killed civilians at a wedding gathering in Kuhestak, a coastal town in Hormozgan province. The army warned that any further US attack would draw a harsh and devastating response and that operations would continue until Iran secured what it called victory over the aggressor. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had separately claimed strikes on US positions at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait on Wednesday.

Kuwait and Qatar condemn sovereignty breach

Kuwait's Foreign Ministry condemned the Iranian strikes as a flagrant violation of sovereignty and a grave breach of international law, the UN Charter, and Security Council Resolution 2817. Officials said the dawn attack hit several sites, including a residential complex, and posed a direct threat to the country's security and stability. Qatar joined the condemnation, calling the operation a blatant breach of international law and a dangerous escalation that undermined diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions.

The pattern of Iranian strikes across Gulf host nations has become a defining feature of the six-month conflict that began with US and Israeli attacks on February 28. Since then, Iran has repeatedly targeted bases and assets in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq's Kurdistan region, and the UAE, even as it maintains that its fire is directed at American military presence rather than at Gulf governments themselves. Gulf capitals have been caught between alliance commitments to Washington and the growing cost of hosting US forces on their territory.

CENTCOM denies damage as interceptors engage

US Central Command categorically rejected Iran's claims that the bases were hit. A US defense official told reporters that regional air defense systems intercepted incoming missiles and drones without damage to American military infrastructure or casualties among US personnel. Kuwait's defense ministry reported that its own systems successfully intercepted the incoming projectiles, describing the Iranian operation as blatant aggression.

The divergence between Iranian claims of successful strikes and American accounts of interceptions has recurred throughout 2026, making battlefield verification difficult for outside observers. Commercial satellite imagery and independent monitoring have rarely confirmed the scale of damage Tehran announces, while Gulf states have increasingly publicised their interception successes. For markets and diplomats, the operational reality matters less than the signal: Iran retains the capacity to launch salvos across the region despite six months of sustained bombardment.

Israel warns sanctions may push Tehran to desperate steps

The Guardian reported that as Iran targeted Gulf bases, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that economic pressure from the Trump administration's sanctions regime could drive Tehran toward desperate steps. Katz's remarks underscored a widening concern in allied capitals that the conflict's military and economic fronts are reinforcing each other rather than producing a settlement.

US President Donald Trump has threatened further strikes if Iran continues its regional campaign, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has described Washington's approach as an effort to economically asphyxiate the Iranian leadership. Iran's ability to launch coordinated attacks across multiple Gulf states on a single morning suggests that neither the military campaign nor the sanctions blockade has yet removed Tehran's capacity to impose costs on the American presence in the Middle East.