Iran Escalates Attacks on US Bases in Gulf Countries

SadaNews - Tensions in the Arabian Gulf region escalated on Monday morning as numerous Iranian attacks targeted American and Saudi sites, while Kuwaiti and Qatari air defenses intercepted a number of missiles and drones.

Kuwait witnessed rising columns of smoke around the American embassy, where the embassy urged American citizens to stay in place and exercise utmost caution following an ongoing threat of missile and drone attacks.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense also announced the downing of several American warplanes, with their crews surviving, as joint investigations continue to determine the causes of the incidents.

Kuwaiti authorities confirmed the interception of several drones that they claimed were targeting the country, with Mohammed Al-Mansouri, Director of the General Administration of Civil Defense at the Ministry of Interior, stating that air defense forces effectively responded early this morning to hostile aerial targets near the Al-Rumaythiya and Salwa areas, without any injuries reported, as the situation remained stable.

In Saudi Arabia, a refinery belonging to Aramco in Ras Tanura was shut down as a precautionary measure after being targeted by a drone attack, while shrapnel from a missile injured workers at the Ahmadi Port refinery in Kuwait without halting production.

The Ras Tanura refinery on the Gulf coast was targeted on Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter, as Iran launched a series of new attacks aimed at Gulf countries.

The source reported that the targeting caused a fire, but it was extinguished.

Saudi state news agency (SPA) reported the Saudi military spokesman stating that "two drones attempting to attack the Ras Tanura refinery were intercepted and destroyed this morning," noting that a "limited fire broke out due to debris falling from the interception operation without civilian casualties."

The spokesman for the Quds Force announced attacks on the American base at Ali Al-Salem, injuring the American aircraft carrier Lincoln with four cruise missiles, in addition to attacks on the US naval base in Bahrain with four drones, and injuring three American and British oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian attacks also resulted in at least one death in Kuwait and injuries to 32 others among foreign nationals, while one Asian worker was killed and two others injured in a fire aboard a ship in the Salman Industrial City in Bahrain caused by debris from an intercepted missile.

In contrast, the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council emphasized that the option to respond to Iranian aggression is officially on the table, asserting that the attacks represent a serious violation of the sovereignty of states, while rejecting any use of their territories to launch attacks on Iran, at a time when Gulf countries are experiencing a critical moment in the regional conflict.