Iran disregards Trump threats to strike US bases in Kuwait
Iran carried out fresh attacks on U.S. military bases in Kuwait on Thursday (3 September), defying President Donald Trump's threat of further strikes as tensions flared again six months into the war.
Trump said his military was prepared to attack Iran "any time we want" after extensive U.S. bombardment of sites across the country left at least 19 Iranians dead.
Tehran retaliated by hitting U.S. military targets across the Middle East, including in Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and northern Iraq's autonomous region.
The clashes deepen the ongoing impasse in the war, as Iran maintains a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz oil export route and the U.S. presses its counterblockade of Iranian ports.
Security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned the United States that Iran had adopted a "new strategy" in the war that "will shatter your foundations."
Kuwait's army said Thursday it was intercepting a missile and drone attack from Iran, with Iranian state TV confirming that Tehran was targeting U.S. bases in the Gulf state "in response to America's crimes against the Iranian people."
The latest round of fighting began when Washington hit Iranian targets Sunday, the first known strikes in several weeks, saying it was trying to stop Tehran placing sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said Sunday's strikes resulted in "casualties" and responded by targeting U.S. troops in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Projectiles also struck two oil tankers in unclaimed attacks, one of which killed two Filipino sailors, according to a Saudi shipping company.
'Maximum pressure'
Aside from military action, Washington has vowed to choke Iran's economy, threatening to slap sanctions on its trade partners.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright pledged Wednesday that a U.S. plan for expanded sanctions targeting the Islamic republic's economic partners would deliver "absolutely maximum pressure."
Trump also suggested Wednesday renaming the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping lane that Tehran has effectively shut for six months, as "Trump Strait" – although he implied later that he wasn't serious.
"Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???" the U.S. president wrote on Truth Social.
Iran's pummeling of U.S. military targets across the region came after a U.S. attack that hit a wedding in the country's south, prompting fury from Tehran.
The Iranian Red Crescent said shrapnel from the missile attack in the coastal town of Kuhestak killed four people, including a child, and wounded more than 50.
The U.S. military did not address the attack directly.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Tim Hawkins said "the U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC," referring to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
The war erupted on Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that killed its then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A fragile cease-fire collapsed after attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed.
Israel's defense minister said meanwhile that his country was prepared to respond "with great force" if attacked by Iran over the Jewish high holiday season, which begins in mid-September.
"For now, they are striking throughout the region except us," Israel Katz told a conference hosted by Israeli media outlets.
Source: Daily Sabah