Iranian Attacks on Gulf States Target Kuwait Airport and Bahrain Desalination Plant
Iran attacked Gulf infrastructure on Sunday (8/3) by hitting fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport and damaging a desalination plant in Bahrain. Tehran continued its missile and drone campaign against neighbouring states as it entered the second week. Two border guards were killed ‘while on national duty,’ Kuwait’s Interior Ministry said, providing no further details on the incident.
Neighbouring states bore much of Tehran’s response after the United States and Israel launched large air campaigns against Iran. AFP counted 16 people killed across Gulf states since the war began, eight of them civilians.
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday that the Islamic Republic would be compelled to respond if neighbouring states’ territory is used to attack it. On Saturday, the president apologised to Gulf states hosting US bases for the attacks in their region.
Gulf states said their territories were not used in attacks against Iran, and before the war began they repeatedly stated that they would not tolerate such actions. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait reported renewed attacks after loud blasts were heard in Dubai and Manama, Bahrain, a day earlier.
Fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport were targeted by drones, the Kuwait News Agency said; a fire was contained and there were no serious injuries. The military called the drone strike a direct attack on critical infrastructure. A separate statement noted material damage to several civilian facilities from shrapnel and debris from interceptions.
Kuwait’s state oil company announced crude production cuts as a precaution. The military said it was responding to several drone and missile attacks. Authorities said the main building housing Kuwait’s social security system sustained damage and would not welcome visitors on Sunday.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said the Iranian drone attack damaged a desalination plant, accusing Tehran of randomly targeting civilian infrastructure. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Saturday that it attacked the United States’ Juffair base in Bahrain, a base used to attack the desalination plant earlier that day. Bahrain’s National Communications Office later said that Iran’s attacks on desalination facilities did not affect water supply or network capacity. Debris from interceptions also injured three people and damaged a university building in Muharraq.
The Saudi Defence Ministry said on Sunday it intercepted 33 drones, adding there were no reports of damage or casualties. Among those drones, some were aimed at Riyadh’s diplomatic district but were thwarted without material damage or civilian injuries; 26 drones targeted the capital and its surroundings. The Saudi Defence Ministry also said one drone targeted the Shaybah oil field in the southeast of the country.
The United Arab Emirates’ air defences detected 17 ballistic missiles on Sunday. It destroyed 16 and one fell into the sea, and it intercepted 113 of 117 drones detected, with four falling inside the country.
Although the Iranian president had apologised to Gulf states for earlier attacks, hours later Iran’s head of the judiciary said the strikes would continue at locations in Gulf states under enemy control. The UAE’s Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a rarely televised address that the UAE is in a period of war and will emerge stronger.
Dubai authorities said a Pakistani citizen died from debris following interceptions. Dubai briefly closed its main international airport on Saturday after authorities said an unidentified object was intercepted nearby. A witness told AFP of a loud explosion followed by smoke; verified footage captured the drone before the explosion and smoke near the airport waiting area. The government said there were minor incidents from falling debris after interception, with no named airport.
Dramatised details of the war’s spillover across the Gulf highlight the fragility of regional security as diplomacy stalls and military actions escalate. (End of translated article)