Kuwait blames Iran for second attack on power and water facilities in two days

A power plant and water desalination plant in Kuwait were attacked for the second time in two days, triggering fires and disrupting electricity production, Kuwaiti authorities said, blaming the attack on Iran.

In a statement posted on the social media platform X on Sunday, Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said the attack sparked fires in several parts of the facility, prompting the relevant authorities to activate an emergency response plan.

Firefighting teams were deployed to the site to extinguish the blaze, whilst technical teams and emergency response officers worked to restore the affected power generation units and stabilise the national electricity grid, the ministry said.

The ministry also urged the public to reduce electricity consumption during this period to help ease the burden on the power system.

Earlier the same day, the Kuwait Armed Forces General Staff said in a statement posted on X that explosions heard in several parts of the country were caused by air defence systems intercepting enemy attacks.

The latest attack follows a similar strike targeting Kuwait’s electricity and water facilities on Saturday (18 July), which Kuwaiti authorities said was carried out by Iran.

Meanwhile, the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) command said on Sunday that its air defence systems had successfully intercepted several Iranian air attacks targeting the country.

In a statement, the BDF said Iran was continuing its “systematic hostile acts” through attacks targeting civilians in the kingdom, describing them as flagrant violations of international humanitarian law.

The United States launched several waves of attacks against Iran in recent days, stating that the operation aimed to “weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian forces responded by launching attacks using missiles and drones targeting US bases and facilities in several countries across the Middle East, including Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.