KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait and Bahrain activated emergency security measures on Wednesday after Iran claimed to have launched missile and drone attacks against US military facilities in both Gulf states in retaliation for fresh American strikes on targets inside Iran, marking a sharp escalation in regional tensions.
Kuwait’s armed forces said that the country’s air defence systems were responding to missile and drone attacks, as tensions across the Gulf escalated following a fresh wave of US military strikes and Iran’s threat of retaliation.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X, the Kuwaiti Army’s General Staff confirmed that air defence units had been activated to counter what it described as “hostile missile and drone attacks”.
تتصدى حالياً الدفاعات الجوية الكويتية لهجمات صاروخية وطائرات مسيرة معادية.
تنوه رئاسة الأركان العامة للجيش أن أصوات الانفجارات إن سمعت فهي نتيجة اعتراض منظومات الدفاع الجوي للهجمات المعادية.
يرجى من الجميع التقيد بتعليمات الأمن والسلامة الصادرة عن الجهات المختصة.… pic.twitter.com/nhXrpThL4T
— KUWAIT ARMY – الجيش الكويتي (@KuwaitArmyGHQ) July 8, 2026
The military said the explosions heard in parts of the country were caused by air defence systems intercepting incoming aerial threats.
“The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosions heard are a result of air defence systems intercepting hostile attacks,” the statement said.
The announcement came amid heightened regional tensions after Iran warned it would respond to recent US strikes, raising concerns that the conflict could spread further across the Gulf.
Meanwhile, air raid sirens sounded across Bahrain, where authorities urged residents to seek shelter as a precaution.
تم إطلاق صافرة الإنذار ، نرجو من المواطنين والمقيمين الهدوء والتوجه لأقرب مكان آمن ومتابعة الأخبار عبر القنوات الرسمية.
— Ministry of Interior (@moi_bahrain) July 8, 2026
In a brief statement, the ministry confirmed that the sirens had been sounded but did not specify the nature or source of the potential threat.
“The siren has been sounded,” Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said in a brief statement on X, calling on citizens and residents to remain calm and proceed to the nearest safe location. The ministry did not specify the nature or source of the threat.
The developments came hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for a large-scale retaliatory operation targeting US military installations in the Gulf.
In a statement carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, the IRGC said its Navy and Aerospace Force had jointly launched missiles and drones at 85 key US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait in what it described as an initial response to recent American strikes on Iranian targets.
The United States and Iran traded fresh military strikes on Wednesday, deepening fears of a wider regional conflict and further straining a fragile ceasefire.
The exchange follows a fresh wave of US military strikes on targets in Iran, which prompted Tehran to warn of retaliation and heightened fears that the conflict could spread across the Gulf, where several countries host major US military bases.
Authorities in Kuwait and Bahrain said they were continuing to monitor the security situation as tensions remained high across the region.
