Iran strikes US bases in Gulf as Israel warns sanctions may spur desperate actions

Iran's armed forces said they hit satellite communications, equipment depots and aircraft hangars at the Ahmad al-Jaber air base in Kuwait and radar sites at the Al Minhad air base in the United Arab Emirates with missiles and drones on Thursday. Kuwait's Ministry of Defence reported that its air defenses intercepted the attacks, describing them as "blatant Iranian aggression." Bahrain and Jordan also said their air defence systems shot down Iranian projectiles the previous day.

The strikes come amid heightened fighting after the United States targeted Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing Tehran of planning to lay mines in the waterway. Oil prices rose following the Iranian attacks, while traffic through the strait remains below pre-war levels.

Iran employed its Kheibar Shekan medium-range ballistic missile, a solid-fuel system that can be launched quickly and is designed to evade missile defenses. Despite U.S. claims that Tehran's missile stockpiles are dwindling, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said Iran's missile capability remains sustained and production continues.

"We see signs indicating that the heavy economic pressure they are under, and the fear of an uprising and the collapse of the regime, may push them to desperate steps," said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz at a ministry ceremony, warning that U.S. sanctions could drive Tehran to more extreme actions.