DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport Wednesday, killing one person, wounding dozens and briefly closing the airfield 鈥� the latest in back-and-forth attacks by Iran and the U.S. that .
The strike reinforced the risks to residents and travelers in Gulf countries that had considered themselves relative havens before the U.S.-Israeli . Iran denied causing the damage.
as mediators seek a more enduring truce in the war, now in its fourth month. They are increasingly strained by Israel鈥檚 broadening war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in .
A regional official said Iran wanted a enforced before returning to talks. President said negotiations continue to extend the Iran ceasefire, even as the U.S. launched strikes against military sites on an Iranian island.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been hitting them pretty hard,鈥� Trump said when asked by reporters on Wednesday if the ceasefire remains in place. 鈥淚鈥檇 say in that part of the world a ceasefire is when you鈥檙e shooting in a more moderate manner.鈥�
The fighting in Lebanon has exposed a rift between Israel and the U.S., which is pushing its ally for restraint. In a measure of the friction, Trump acknowledged that he’d called Israeli Prime Minister 鈥渃razy鈥� during a phone call earlier this week. Nonetheless, both men say their rapport is solid.
Iran maintains its hold on the 鈥� a crucial waterway for the world鈥檚 oil and natural gas and related products like 鈥� and the U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports. Global fuel prices remain high, and the are felt well beyond the region.
In Washington, House Speaker said he, Trump, Vice President , and Secretary of State huddled for three hours at the White House Monday as Trump worked on 鈥渢hat final piece鈥� of getting commerce flowing. Rubio, meanwhile, over the war and its economic fallout.
An Indian national is killed at Kuwait’s main airport
A spokesperson for Kuwait’s Defense Ministry, Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, said 鈥渁 number of hostile drones鈥� targeted a passenger building at Kuwait International Airport. It had opened only Monday after a monthslong closure because of the war, which began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iran鈥檚 paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it didn’t fire at the airport, instead claiming without providing any evidence that the terminal was damaged by a U.S.-made interceptor that failed to hit Iranian missiles. U.S. Central Command called the claim false and said on X that Iranian drones made a 鈥渄eliberate, calculated and unjustified attack鈥� on the airport.
Surveillance footage later released by Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed the moment of impact from several angles. In the footage, what appears to be a triangle-shaped, delta-wing drone slams directly into the terminal. , particularly its Shahed drones, which are also used by .
Another photograph from the scene showed a Kuwaiti soldier carrying what appeared to be a small aircraft engine consistent with those used by Iranian drones.
India鈥檚 Embassy in Kuwait said the person killed was an Indian national. Authorities said 63 were wounded, including passengers and workers, and some suffered serious injuries.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said it destroyed over a dozen missiles and a similar number of drones from Iran.
The airport partially reopened later, with Kuwait Airways flights resuming at a different terminal, according to civil aviation authorities. No other flights were operating.
The Foreign Ministry said Kuwait will 鈥渘either accept nor tolerate鈥� the attacks and was kicking out two Iranian diplomats. Such expulsions are an established means of communicating international ire.
US and Iran say they are retaliating for earlier attacks
The U.S. military said two Iranian missiles fell apart en route to Kuwait and that it 鈥渄owned multiple drones鈥� targeting American forces in the country.
The military also said U.S. and Bahraini forces intercepted missiles aimed at the Gulf kingdom, home to the U.S. Navy鈥檚 5th fleet. Bahrain鈥檚 Defense Ministry said its military intercepted and destroyed three missiles and a number of drones fired by Iran.
The Revolutionary Guard acknowledged that it targeted the headquarters of the 5th Fleet and U.S. military facilities in another country.
Both the U.S. and Iran said they were retaliating for earlier attacks or attempted ones.
Netanyahu that Iran was 鈥減laying with fire,鈥� but he said any decision about whether to scale up a military response would rest with Trump. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared on X that 鈥渁ny hostile act will be met with an immediate, decisive response.鈥�
The U.S. military said it launched strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said a telecommunications tower was struck. It called this attack, and others, “acts of aggression鈥� that it said violated the ceasefire.
The war is increasingly tied to Israel鈥檚 fight in Lebanon
Israeli forces have moved than at any time in over a quarter-century, while Hezbollah has launched rocket and drone attacks. The declared ceasefire in Lebanon is officially in place, and no side has formally withdrawn or declared it over even as attacks continue.
Iran insists that any larger potential truce must quell the fighting in Lebanon. Netanyahu wants to keep the issues separate and is under domestic pressure to strike Hezbollah as he prepares for elections this fall.
In a podcast interview released Wednesday, Trump that he had called Netanyahu 鈥渃razy鈥� Monday in a phone conversation peppered with an expletive. Trump that he was 鈥渁 little bit perturbed鈥� that Israel鈥檚 fight with Hezbollah was holding back talks with Iran.
Still, Trump said his relationship with Netanyahu was good, and 鈥渨e鈥檝e worked very well together.鈥�
Netanyahu responded on CNBC that he and Trump sometimes have 鈥渢actical disagreements鈥� but have 鈥渃ommon goals鈥� and 鈥渁gree on the main things.鈥�
鈥淲e always find a way to work out our differences,鈥� the prime minister said.
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi; Sam Mednick in Jerusalem, Jennifer Peltz in New York; and Lisa Mascaro, Aamer Madhani and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.
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