US and Iran Continue Attacks: New Escalation Around Kuwait

Kuwait City – 19/07/2026: The military escalation between the United States and Iran intensified again during the night into Sunday. According to information from Kuwait and reports by international news agencies, missiles and drones were launched from Iran toward the country. Kuwaiti air defense forces responded to the attacks. Bahrain also again reported air raid alerts and interception measures.

The United States said on Sunday that it had carried out further airstrikes against targets of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Washington justified the operation by citing an attack on a US military site in Jordan, in which, according to US information, two soldiers were killed. Another soldier is reportedly missing, while several others received medical treatment.

The exact number of projectiles fired at Kuwait and other Gulf states on July 19 could initially not be fully independently verified. Kuwaiti authorities have repeatedly reported attacks on civilian and critical technical facilities in recent days. According to official Kuwaiti information, power supply and water desalination facilities were among those damaged.

Tehran portrays its attacks as a response to continued US airstrikes. Iranian state media and the Revolutionary Guards had previously stated that they had targeted US positions and military infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain. The claims of the parties to the conflict regarding targets hit, damage and casualties can currently only be independently confirmed in part.

Kuwait has been particularly affected by the conflict because of the deployment of US forces. The country is home, among other facilities, to Ali Al Salem Air Base, which has for months been regarded as a potential target for Iranian retaliatory attacks. The government in Kuwait City condemned earlier missile and drone attacks as violations of its national sovereignty and international law.

The latest attacks have hit a region already strained by fighting over the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is one of the most important trade routes for energy exports. Attacks on military targets and infrastructure in neighboring countries have further worsened security conditions in the Gulf and heightened concerns about an expansion of the conflict.

The United Nations called for the greatest possible restraint at the beginning of July after the United States and Iran reached an agreement at the end of June to halt mutual attacks. However, the latest fighting shows that this de-escalation is not holding. Whether new diplomatic mediation efforts will follow the attacks during the night of July 19 initially remained unclear.