Kuwait’s armed forces intercepted and engaged 32 unmanned aerial vehicles that entered the country’s airspace from dawn on Thursday, the defence ministry announced, while Bahrain also reported repelling a number of aerial attacks. Iran’s state media separately confirmed that the military had launched a new wave of drone strikes against what it described as American radar systems, Patriot air-defence batteries and fuel storage facilities at Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait and Sheikh Isa air base in Bahrain, as part of the tenth round of an operation it calls “Thunderbolt”.

Kuwait’s foreign ministry condemned the attacks as a “flagrant violation” of international law and said it held Iran fully responsible for the continuation of the assaults and their consequences. The ministry warned that Iran’s “persistence in this aggressive approach” against Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council states was fuelling escalation and undermining regional security. Bahrain’s defence force described the strikes as “treacherous Iranian air attacks” and said its air-defence systems had intercepted and destroyed a number of them. The United Arab Emirates issued a statement denouncing the renewed attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, calling them a blatant violation of the sovereignty of “brotherly states” and a threat to their stability, and expressed full solidarity with the targeted countries.

Kuwaiti officials said the “sinful Iranian aggression” had struck a number of vital installations and that falling debris from interception operations caused material damage in several residential areas, though no human casualties were recorded. The army urged the public to adhere to safety instructions and warned that explosions heard across the country were the result of air-defence activity. In Bahrain, sirens were activated and explosions were reported near the capital, Manama. The pattern of daily Iranian strikes on what Tehran says are US military assets has been met with growing alarm in Gulf capitals, which assert that civilian and critical infrastructure is increasingly being hit.

The exchanges follow a series of US strikes on Iranian military infrastructure and a renewed naval blockade on Iranian ports, according to regional media reports. Iran’s military has claimed responsibility for near-daily drone and missile attacks on American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain since the latest round of hostilities began. Viewed from Tehran, the operations are presented as retaliation for US actions and as targeting solely American military presence. Gulf governments, however, maintain that the attacks violate their sovereignty and endanger their populations. No immediate diplomatic channel has been announced, and the situation remains highly volatile, with further military action expected by both sides.