Iran Hits US Bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan as Gulf States Close Ranks

Verified key facts

• Iran fired missiles and drones at US military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan on 16 July, Al Jazeera reported
• Tehran said it struck Patriot batteries and fuel tanks at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and air defences at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain
• The IRGC said two waves of ballistic missiles were fired at Jordan's al-Azraq Air Base
• The GCC declared that an attack on any member state is an attack on all, demanding Iran honour its June memorandum with Washington
• An Iranian army spokesman vowed to 'crush' Gulf infrastructure if the US widened its attacks

Iran launched a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks on 16 July against United States military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. The strikes, reported by Al Jazeera and Euronews, mark one of the broadest Iranian retaliations since the interim US-Iran truce collapsed last week. Gulf governments condemned the attacks and warned that the war is dragging their territory ever deeper into the conflict.

What happened on 16 July

Iran's army said it targeted US radar and air defence systems across the Gulf in the early hours. Al Jazeera reported strikes on Patriot missile batteries and fuel storage tanks at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. Communications equipment and air defence installations at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain were also hit, according to Iranian military statements.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they fired two waves of ballistic missiles at Jordan's al-Azraq Air Base, which hosts American forces. The IRGC framed the Jordan strikes as retaliation for an American attack near a children's cancer hospital in Iran, Euronews reported. Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, and Kuwaiti forces engaged incoming drones over the country, according to Al Jazeera's live coverage.

Why Iran widened its retaliation

The attacks came hours after the US completed a fifth consecutive day of strikes on Iran, hitting command centres and air defence sites around Tehran and northern Iran. Tehran has repeatedly said that any state hosting US forces used against Iran becomes a legitimate target. The Iranian army has followed that doctrine since the June memorandum of understanding with Washington broke down.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia issued a stark warning alongside the strikes. If President Donald Trump carried out his threat to attack Iran's infrastructure, he said, Iran would strike and 'crush' infrastructure across the Gulf region, Al Jazeera reported. The language signals that Tehran views Gulf energy and military sites as leverage rather than off-limits.

Gulf states close ranks

The Gulf Cooperation Council responded with its strongest collective language of the war. 'Any attack on a GCC country is a direct attack on all GCC states,' the bloc said in a statement carried by Al Arabiya and the GCC secretariat. The council demanded that Iran fully commit to the memorandum of understanding it signed with the United States in June.

The GCC secretary general condemned what he called Iran's repeated brutal attacks on the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as assaults on commercial vessels. The UAE foreign ministry separately called the missile attack on Jordan a 'flagrant violation' of the kingdom's sovereignty and declared full solidarity with Amman.

• Kuwait: Patriot batteries and fuel tanks reportedly struck at Ali Al Salem Air Base
• Bahrain: air defences and communications gear hit at Sheikh Isa Air Base, per Iranian statements
• Jordan: two waves of ballistic missiles fired at al-Azraq Air Base, the IRGC said
• GCC: renewed call for the UN Security Council to act on freedom of navigation in Hormuz

The human and civilian toll

Iran's health ministry said at least 35 people have been killed and more than 300 injured inside Iran since the latest round of fighting began last week, Al Jazeera reported. Casualty figures on the Gulf side of the exchange remained unconfirmed on 16 July. Sirens, airspace closures and delayed flights disrupted daily life in Kuwait City and Manama through the morning.

Gulf governments have so far avoided declaring themselves combatants, even as their soil absorbs Iranian fire. That balancing act is becoming harder. The Houthis have warned that Gulf states directly joining the war would trigger further escalation, including possible action at the Bab el-Mandeb strait, Foreign Policy reported this week.

Implications for the wider war

The 16 July strikes confirm that the war is no longer a bilateral US-Iran exchange. Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan are now routinely absorbing attacks aimed at American assets, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE weigh their exposure. Every Iranian salvo against GCC territory increases pressure on those governments to demand either American de-escalation or American protection.

For Washington, the pattern raises the cost of continuing strikes. US bases in the Gulf were designed as launchpads and logistics hubs, not front lines. Repeated hits on Patriot batteries and radar systems, if confirmed, would erode the air defence shield protecting both US forces and host nations, analysts told regional outlets.

What to watch next

Attention now turns to whether Washington answers the base attacks with the expanded operations President Trump is reportedly weighing. The Wall Street Journal reported that options include seizing Iranian islands near the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran, for its part, has said its 'invincible red line' is any US interference in the strait.

The GCC has asked the UN Security Council to guarantee safe transit through the strait and to push for a permanent ceasefire. Whether that diplomatic track can outpace the military one may decide if the Gulf states remain targets or become participants. For now, sirens over Kuwait and Bahrain are the war's clearest new front.

Sources

• Al Jazeera - US launches new attacks on Iran as Tehran targets Gulf sites (16 Jul 2026)
• Euronews - Iran launches retaliatory attacks on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan (16 Jul 2026)
• Al Jazeera - Iran war live: Tehran vows to crush regional infrastructure if US attacks (16 Jul 2026)
• Al Arabiya - GCC condemns Iran's repeated heinous attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait (9 Jul 2026)