Iran Ramps Up Retaliatory Kuwait Attack After US Escalation
(Bloomberg) -- Kuwait airport suspended flights and an oil facility was struck after Iran unleashed a heavy attack in retaliation for the latest strikes by the US, as concerns over a re-escalation of the war pushed crude prices sharply higher.
The Gulf state suffered one of its heaviest barrages since the Middle East conflict began in late February, triggering multiple rounds of sirens from around dawn on Saturday.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said an unspecified oil site sustained “significant material losses” from Iranian attacks, resulting in an evacuation and a number of injuries, according to the state-run Kuwait News Agency. Kuwait Airways rescheduled most of its flights, while the Ministry of Electricity and Water said firefighting was underway at a power and desalination plant struck by Iran.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attacks and said repeated targeting of vital installations “reveals a systemic aggressive approach that targets civilian assets, endangering the lives and safety of civilians,” in flagrant violation of international law.
US Central Command earlier said that a seventh night of strikes against the Islamic Republic concluded at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, after its forces hit surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities.
A week of back-and-forth strikes by both sides has expanded beyond strictly military targets to include bridges, utilities and port facilities, suggesting little prospect of a return to the fragile ceasefire signed last month.
“The US trampled on and stopped all of its commitments,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television on Saturday. “We too have stopped all our commitments and we’re not currently implementing them.”
Iran’s Health Ministry said that 50 people had been killed and over 500 injured in US attacks from June 27 to July 18.
Brent crude surged, rising about 4.6% on Friday to settle near $88 per barrel to notch its biggest weekly advance since April. That followed an Axios report that the Trump administration notified Israel it’s sending more refueling planes to the country, a possible signal that US military operations could be widened. An Israeli military official on Saturday confirmed the plan for the US to boost its Israel-based aircraft fleet.
Tehran has responded to US attacks by targeting American bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain — countries that have borne the brunt of the Islamic Republic’s counterstrikes since fighting picked up — and on Oman’s As Salamah Archipelago, which sits on the strait.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defense said on Saturday it issued warning messages overnight of incoming threats in Yanbu and Kharj governorate. An alert was issued later saying the danger had passed, without providing further details.
Iran also struck at US radar and aircraft in Qatar, one of the main mediators between Washington and Tehran, according to the Tasnim news agency.
The US embassy in Jerusalem urged Americans to reconsider travel through or to the Middle East given the potential for “unforeseen escalation,” and recommended checking with air carriers to ensure that flights were still scheduled for those opting to proceed.
Several US service members were injured in Iranian attacks on at least two Jordanian bases this week, CBS reported, citing unnamed US officials. Axios separately reported that Iran had launched a ballistic missile at a US base in Saudi Arabia.
Central Command didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday night.
The escalation has prompted concerns that the ceasefire agreement, meant to help reestablish regular shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and establish a process for longer-term peace talks, can no longer be salvaged.
Addressing the nation on Thursday night, though, US President Donald Trump again painted the situation in the Mideast as a success. The US is “winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly,” he said, before pivoting to domestic issues.
China and Pakistan expressed concern over the developments, calling on both the US and Iran to cease hostilities and resume dialogue.
Beyond bombing Iran more often, the US is again blockading its ports and has scrapped a waiver for sanctions on its oil exports.
The worsening hostilities are still far from the scale seen at the height of the war in March and early April. Then, the US and Israel were bombarding Iranian cities on a mass scale and Tehran was firing thousands of drones and missiles at Gulf Arab states and Israel.
Yet with Iran continuing maritime attacks and insisting that all ships seek its permission before sailing through the strait, there’s a good chance both sides continue to escalate, according to Mehran Kamrava, a professor of political science at Georgetown University’s campus in Qatar.
The attacks are “an ominous sign of more to come, worse to come,” Kamrava told Bloomberg TV on Friday from Doha. “Neither side wants to see this escalation but both have become dependent on the path of an escalatory cycle from which they cannot back out. This tit-for-tat is now very dangerous in the sense of attacks and counter attacks on critical infrastructure.”
(Updates with Kuwait comment in paragraph 4, Iranian comment in seventh paragraph.)
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
