On Thursday, Iran reported striking US military installations in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, pledging retaliation for what it alleges was a US-sponsored attack on a wedding ceremony. This comes as US Vice President JD Vance confirmed that Washington is investigating the incident.
These latest clashes, which erupted following US raids on Sunday, have exacerbated the deadlock in the six-month conflict. Iran continues to exert control over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, while Washington maintains its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
Kuwait’s military stated on Thursday that it intercepted a missile and drone offensive launched from Tehran. Meanwhile, the Iranian army claimed it struck US assets at the Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base “with missiles and drones.” Kuwait denounced the attacks as a “grave breach of the rules of international law.”
Iran’s military also asserted that it targeted Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE, though the Gulf nation reported no such incident.
The strikes followed an attack on a wedding in the coastal city of Kuhestak, which the Iranian Red Crescent said killed at least four people, including a child, and injured over 50 attendees on Tuesday night.
Vice President Vance stated that Washington is probing the alleged strike, though he expressed skepticism regarding the Iranian reports.
“I know that we’re investigating,” he told a White House briefing. “However, Iranian state media has not been a very reliable narrator of events in this conflict so far. I’m extremely skeptical of these claims.”
Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) chief Ahmad Vahidi vowed on Thursday to avenge the victims, declaring that “the pure blood of these oppressed martyrs will not go unanswered.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Tim Hawkins stated that “the US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC.” He noted the incident mirrors a previous attack early in the war where over 120 schoolgirls were killed at a girls’ school—an event initially denied by the US but later confirmed after investigations.
Extensive US bombardments of sites across Iran have killed at least 19 people over the past week, following President Donald Trump’s remark that his military was prepared to strike Iran at “any time.”
An Iranian state-run news agency reported on Thursday that six members of the Iranian navy were killed by US attacks this week, though it remained unclear if they were among the 19 casualties.
Tehran retaliated this week with strikes across the Middle East, claiming it targeted US bases and forces in US-allied Gulf Arab nations, including the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, as well as Jordan and Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
However, Vance maintained that he “wouldn’t call it a war,” arguing that “right now, there is no active shooting.” He described the intermittent exchanges as “flare-ups” but insisted the active combat phase lasted only about six weeks.
The conflict began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening salvo.
A fragile ceasefire collapsed in July after attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz resumed, a waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies previously flowed.
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