Iran claims missile and drone strikes on US bases in Kuwait and UAE amid wedding attack investigation

Iran announced on Thursday that it launched missiles and drones at the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait and at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, claiming to target U.S. military assets. Kuwait's army reported intercepting a missile and drone attack and described the strikes as a serious breach of international law. The United Arab Emirates said it had not detected any such attack.

The retaliatory actions follow a missile strike on a wedding in the coastal town of Kuhestak, which the Iranian Red Crescent said killed at least four people, including a child, and injured more than 50 others. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Washington is investigating the incident but expressed skepticism about Iranian state media reports.

"I know that we're investigating," Vance told a White House briefing. "I will say that the Iranian state media has not been a very good scribe about what's happened in the conflict thus far. So I'm extremely skeptical of this."

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Ahmad Vahidi pledged retaliation, stating that the victims would not be forgotten. U.S. Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins responded that the U.S. military does not target civilians.

The exchanges occur against a backdrop of ongoing hostilities that began in late February, with both sides conducting strikes across the region, including in Gulf Arab states, Jordan and Iraq's Kurdistan region. While the U.S. describes the incidents as limited flare-ups rather than a full-scale war, the conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global oil supplies.