Kuwait expels Iranian diplomats, bars use of its airspace for hostile acts against other nations

Kuwaiti officials inspect damage inside a terminal at Kuwait International Airport following a missile strike. [Reuters]
Kuwaiti officials inspect damage inside a terminal at Kuwait International Airport following a missile strike. [Reuters]

Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a stark warning to the United States and its allies Wednesday, saying "the response to every shot and every attack will be a barrage of missiles and drones."

Rezaei made the remarks on X, formerly Twitter, adding that "history cannot be reversed and the aggressor will soon be punished."

The comments came after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched strikes in the early hours of Wednesday targeting U.S. military assets in Kuwait and Bahrain. Tehran described the strikes as retaliation for recent U.S. attacks on an Iranian oil tanker and a communications tower on Qeshm Island.

Rezaei also said Iran would not tolerate excessive U.S. demands during any truce or end-of-war negotiations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is participating in negotiations with the United States, also took to X on Wednesday to justify the strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain.

"Our armed forces are carrying out acts of self-defense against areas the United States has used to attack civilian vessels and violate the truce," Araghchi said.

He warned that "any hostile act will face an immediate and decisive response," adding that "what could not be achieved through sanctions and war cannot be achieved through a bigger war."

The IRGC said it struck a U.S. Air Force base in Kuwait and the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain in response to the attacks on the Iranian oil tanker and the Qeshm Island communications tower. CENTCOM said Iran's strikes had failed.

Kuwait's Defense Ministry said it intercepted 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones fired by Iran in the early morning hours alone. The attacks caused significant material damage to civilian infrastructure, including Kuwait International Airport, and killed one Indian national while injuring several others.

Kuwait's Foreign Ministry summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Iranian Embassy to protest the strikes on Kuwaiti territory.

The ministry also reduced the staffing of the Iranian Embassy and declared two Iranian diplomats persona non grata, ordering them to leave the country within 24 hours.

Kuwait's Foreign Ministry shrugged off Iran's justifications, saying "the use of Kuwaiti territory or airspace for any hostile act against any state will not be tolerated." It added that "Iran's claims have no basis whatsoever and cannot under any circumstances justify attacks on Kuwaiti territory and vital civilian infrastructure."


mokiya@heraldcorp.com