Gulf Countries Thwart Iranian Attacks Targeted at US Bases

Iranian missile and drone attacks targeted US military bases in the Gulf and locations in Israel. The UAE and Kuwait’s air defences responded to missile strikes, while Saudi Arabia intercepted drone attacks.

Quoted from AFP on Sunday (20/3/2026), elsewhere in the Gulf, Bahrain’s interior ministry stated that shrapnel from the “Iranian aggression” caused a fire in a warehouse, which was brought under control and resulted in no injuries.

Previously, the ministry had said air raid sirens had been activated.

In Kuwait, a military statement said air defences “responded to enemy missile and drone threats,” while UAE government media reported “missile and drone threats coming from Iran.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard stated via Tasnim news agency that they had targeted US forces at the Al-Dhafra air base in the UAE as well as sites in Israel with missiles and drones.

There are no immediate reports of casualties.

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said that within less than two hours, its forces had “intercepted and destroyed” 10 drones in the eastern part of the country and one more in the north.

On Thursday (19/3), drones attacked a Saudi oil refinery in the Red Sea and caused fires at two other refineries in Kuwait, as Iran escalates attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf.

These attacks come after major damage to the world’s largest gas hub, Ras Laffan in Qatar, on Wednesday in retaliation for Israel’s strike on the South Pars gas field.