U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) accused Iran on Thursday of an “egregious ceasefire violation” for firing a ballistic missile at Kuwait and launching “five one-way attack drones that posed a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz.”
CENTCOM said the ballistic missile was “successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces,” while the drones were all “successfully intercepted by U.S. forces.”
In addition, American forces “prevented a sixth drone launch from an Iranian ground control site in Bandar Abbas.”
“U.S. Central Command and regional partners remain vigilant and measured as we continue to defend our forces and interests from unjustified Iranian aggression,” the statement said.
Iran claimed it was retaliating for what the Pentagon described as “self-defense” strikes on Monday directed against Iranian missile launch sites and mine-laying boats.
Iranian state media reports implied the target of the ballistic missile fired at Kuwait by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was an American air base that was involved in the self-defense strikes.
The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry called the Iranian attack a “blatant violation of sovereignty and security.” It further declared its “strongest condemnation and denunciation of the criminal Iranian attacks,” which it described as a “dangerous escalation.”
Kuwait’s neighbors — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — also denounced the Iranian attack.
“These terrorist attacks constitute a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of Kuwait and a treat to its security and stability,” the UAE Foreign Ministry said, declaring “full solidarity with Kuwait” and support for “all measures aimed at safeguarding its security and stability.”
Kuwait and its neighbors are all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), whose Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi “condemned in the strongest possible terms the continued heinous Iranian attacks on the State of Kuwait.”
“The persistence of these treacherous attacks constitutes a flagrant violation of the principles of international law, the United Nations (UN) Charter, and the principles of good-neighborliness,” Albudaiwi’s office said in a statement on Thursday.
Like the individual GCC members, Albudaiwi expressed full support for Kuwait “in all measures it undertakes to maintain its security and stability.” This rhetorical dynamic has continued throughout the Iran crisis, as Tehran’s Sunni Arab neighbors constantly declare their mutual support for whatever measures any of them decide to take, but none of them actually does anything to punish Iran for its aggression.
As for the Iranian attack drones, U.S. officials described them as a threat to ships in the Strait of Hormuz and said the strike on the Iranian control station in Bandar Abbas was a “purely defensive” action intended to “maintain the ceasefire.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai nevertheless condemned the U.S. actions as a violation of the ceasefire, and said Iran would “take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty.”