Iran said on September 3, 2026, that it had launched missiles and drones at United States military targets in Kuwait and other Gulf states after a new round of American strikes killed at least 19 people in Iran.
The escalation followed a warning from US President Donald Trump that American forces were ready to strike Iran “any time we want,” according to the report from AFP via the South China Morning Post. Trump’s warning came after extensive US bombardment of sites across Iran. Tehran then retaliated with attacks on US military facilities and assets across the Middle East, including in Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
Kuwait’s army said on Thursday that it was intercepting a missile and drone attack from Iran. Iranian state television confirmed that Tehran was targeting US bases in the Gulf state in response to what it called America’s crimes against the Iranian people. The report said Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, warned Washington that Iran had adopted a new strategy that would shatter its foundations.
The packet does not provide an independent damage assessment or casualty count from the Gulf strikes, and it is important to note that the source material is limited to what Tehran, Kuwait and the AFP report said at this stage. What is clear is that the conflict widened beyond direct strikes on Iranian territory and into a broader regional exchange involving multiple countries and US military sites.
The reported attacks also come with major strategic implications. Iran continues to hold leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil export route, and the AFP report said the United States was pressing a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. That makes the exchange not just a military event but a risk to energy shipping and regional trade.
The confrontation is unfolding amid a deeper regional war that has now entered a new phase of retaliation and counter-retaliation. The report said Iran’s retaliation extended beyond Kuwait to bases and assets in Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain and Iraqi Kurdistan. That breadth suggests the response was designed to signal reach as well as resolve.
For now, the most solid details are the ones both sides have confirmed in part: the US conducted strikes on Iranian targets, Iran answered with missiles and drones, and Gulf states moved to defend American facilities. The scale of any damage, and whether the attacks produced further casualties, was not established in the supplied evidence.
Even so, the political message was unmistakable. Tehran framed the attacks as retaliation for deaths caused by US bombing, while Washington’s public posture remained one of continued readiness to strike. With each side escalating in public and across borders, the conflict is becoming a regional security emergency rather than a bilateral exchange.
