Kuwait's armed forces reported that Iranian missile strikes damaged a terminal at the country's main international airport, causing major structural harm and injuring multiple individuals. The incident occurred amid ongoing missile and drone exchanges between the United States and Iran, which threaten to derail attempts at establishing a fresh ceasefire between the two nations.

US military units launched a Hellfire missile overnight to stop a tanker trying to breach the American blockade at the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, later announcing they had countered Iranian counterstrikes in the area and conducted operations against facilities on Iran's Qeshm Island.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks on the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain as retaliation for the Qeshm operation, though US Central Command rejected the assertion.

The current round of hostilities started when Centcom targeted an empty tanker, the Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie, on Tuesday. Officials stated that aircraft used a missile to impair the vessel's propulsion system while it moved through international waters heading toward Iran's Kharg Island north of the strait near Kuwait, after the crew disregarded multiple warnings spanning 24 hours.

Iran soon followed with a drone attack on a passenger terminal at Kuwait International Airport, injuring several people and halting all air traffic, according to Kuwaiti authorities on Wednesday.

Kuwaiti defence ministry spokesperson Brig Gen Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan called the incident criminal Iranian aggression that led to extensive physical damage to the structure and multiple injuries.

He declined to specify the exact number of casualties but confirmed that all injured individuals had been provided with medical treatment.

Kuwait's official news service indicated that civil aviation officials halted operations and diverted incoming flights to other facilities following the Iranian attacks on terminal one that produced casualties and destruction.

US forces reported shooting down three one-way attack drones launched by Iran toward civilian vessels lawfully passing through regional waters, though additional specifics were not provided.

American troops also carried out strikes against an Iranian military ground control facility located on Qeshm Island.

The IRGC issued a statement noting that the aggressive US military had struck an Iranian oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz using an aerial projectile, damaging the engine room, and described the responses as a necessary lesson.

The recent series of strikes highlights the absence of meaningful political advancement in addressing the Middle East crisis, despite optimistic statements from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his initial Senate foreign relations committee appearance since the US and Israel initiated their campaign against Iran.

Rubio repeated assertions on Tuesday that an agreement with Tehran remained achievable and stated the regime had consented to discuss elements of its nuclear program previously off-limits even a month earlier.

These remarks stand in contrast to Iran's position, which has signaled it will halt peace negotiations with the US in response to Israel's actions in Lebanon, raising the prospect of collapsed talks with Washington.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the ceasefire between Iran and the US applies unequivocally across all fronts, including Lebanon, and that any breach on one front constitutes a violation on all fronts, holding the US and Israel accountable for resulting consequences.

Israeli aircraft conducted numerous strikes throughout southern Lebanon despite a new accord reportedly arranged by Donald Trump intended to strengthen the fragile ceasefire there.

The US president announced on Monday that he had prevented an impending Israeli attack on Beirut after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hezbollah representatives, with both sides agreeing that all shooting would cease.

However, on Tuesday Lebanon's state-run National News Agency documented 30 Israeli strikes across the south. Near Sidon, rescue teams recovered the bodies of six family members, including two children and a woman, following an Israeli attack.

The Israeli military issued a fresh evacuation alert for the southern city of Nabatiyeh ahead of additional strikes, accusing Hezbollah of breaching the ceasefire.

The Lexie marks the sixth vessel disabled by US forces since the blockade of Iran began on 13 April. The military added that it had redirected 122 ships attempting to access or depart Iranian ports.

Over the weekend US forces struck Iranian radar and drone installations, prompting Tehran to target a military base in Kuwait it alleged participated in the American operation.

With Reuters