Gulf tensions escalate as Iran hits Kuwait, US strikes near Hormuz

Dubai/Washington, Jun 3: Gulf hostilities flared again on June 3, with an Iranian missile attack damaging Kuwait’s airport and the US military carrying out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, with diplomacy between Washington and Tehran showing little sign of progress.

The attacks are the latest to test a shaky ceasefire, sending oil prices up more than 2 per cent as the strait remains largely closed more than three months after initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Flights at Kuwait International Airport were suspended after an Iranian drone and missile attack damaged airport facilities and diplomatic missions, killing one person and injuring more than 60 others.

The civil aviation authority said Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways were resuming flights after taking safety measures.

Bahrain’s army said it intercepted three missiles and several drones, as Iran attacked the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, as well as an airbase and helicopters in another, unspecified regional state.

The US military said two Iranian missiles aimed at Kuwait fell short or broke apart in flight, while several ballistic missiles failed to strike their targets in the region.

Since the conflict began in late February, Iran has repeatedly attacked targets in the Gulf region where US military bases are located.

Hostilities have occasionally flared up since the US and Iran agreed to halt fighting in early April, as the US has pushed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a route that handled roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war.

Last week, Iran and the US signalled progress towards a tentative initial agreement to halt the war and reopen the strait. But the two sides have yet to sign off on the deal, which would leave more complex negotiations for later.

Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said on June 3 that Iran would not allow the US to “overreach” either in negotiations or ceasefire arrangements.

In a post on X, he warned that any aggression would be met with a barrage of missiles and drones.

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the President of the United Arab Emirates, said repeated attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain required a firm, unified and cohesive Gulf response.

“The aggression does not target one country alone, but all of us,” he wrote on X.

In further signs of escalation, the US military said it downed drones targeting civilian ships in regional waters and American forces in Kuwait, and carried out strikes on Qeshm island near the Strait of Hormuz after attempted attacks by Iran.

Iranian media said the Revolutionary Guards’ navy targeted a vessel it identified as the Panaya with missiles, in response to what it said was a US attack on an Iranian tanker near Hormuz.

“Disrupting the security of the Strait of Hormuz will carry a heavy price for the US military,” the media cited the Guards as saying.

Trump says he may meet Khamenei

Earlier, Iranian media said Tehran had not been in contact with Washington for several days, though US President Donald Trump said negotiations were continuing.

Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly said he is close to a deal to end the fighting and pave the way for negotiations on thorny issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.

In a podcast interview released on June 3, he said Iran had agreed not to have a nuclear weapon, and that he would probably meet with Khamenei at some point if things “work out”.

“They’ve already agreed they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Asked about Khamenei’s involvement in talks with the US on ending hostilities, Trump replied: “He’s involved, absolutely. I think they have a lot of respect for him”.

Trump said he was hearing Iran’s leader was not doing too well, but was giving his approval during the negotiations.

He added that he has not had “the privilege of meeting” Khamenei.

“I’d like to meet him. We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out,” he said.

Trump has said his top priority is to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is developing a nuclear bomb, and says its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes.

As part of any deal, Tehran is seeking a halt to fighting in Lebanon, access to billions of dollars in oil revenues, waivers on crude exports, a lifting of a US blockade on its ports and continued leverage over the strait.

The war that began on Feb 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, while also causing global economic pain by pushing up energy prices.

It also triggered the latest round of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, with Israel pursuing its deepest incursion into Lebanon in 25 years.

On June 3, Israeli drone strikes killed at least six people in southern Lebanon and targeted a car just south of Beirut, while Israel said it intercepted a hostile aircraft likely fired by Hezbollah.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli military to Reuters’ questions about the drone strikes.

But the attack on the car appeared to mark the closest attack to Beirut since Trump asked Israel not to hit the Lebanese capital, under a US-mediated partial ceasefire announced on Monday.

In his podcast comments, Trump acknowledged having called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “crazy” in a reportedly expletive-filled phone exchange over the fighting in Lebanon as he sought a deal over the wider war.

“At some point, I said, ‘Bibi, we got to stop this. We got to stop it’,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. (Reuters)