Kuwait International Airport temporarily suspended flight operations on Saturday after missile and drone threats linked to Iran’s widening retaliation, turning the latest U.S.-Iran exchange into a direct disruption for civilian air travel in the Gulf.
Reuters reported that Kuwait came under sustained attack after a seventh consecutive night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets, including logistics facilities. The same report said Kuwait International Airport operations were suspended because of repeated missile and drone threats, while a Kuwaiti power and water desalination plant was hit for the second time in two days.
Flights Were Rescheduled After Airspace Closure
The Peninsula Qatar reported that Kuwait Airways rescheduled most flights after the airport temporarily stopped takeoffs and landings as a precaution. The airline told passengers to monitor flight status updates and said notifications would be sent to registered phone numbers.
The airport suspension is a fresh civilian-infrastructure angle in a crisis that had already expanded beyond direct military targets. List25 previously reported that Iran struck a Kuwaiti desalination plant and that a U.S. strike in Iran’s Jask area allegedly cut water to 20 villages. Saturday’s airport disruption shows the same escalation is now affecting passenger aviation as well as water and power systems.
Iran Says It Targeted U.S.-Linked Sites
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it struck U.S.-linked facilities in Kuwait, including Camp Arifjan and a radar facility at Ali Al Salem Air Base, according to Reuters. Reuters said it could not independently verify those battlefield claims.
The Associated Press, carried by Trib Today, also reported that Iran launched missiles into U.S.-allied Gulf countries, including Kuwait and Qatar, while the U.S. expanded strikes on Iranian bridges, energy sites, surveillance sites, and port infrastructure.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has voiced concern about the escalation, particularly attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region. With air travel, desalination, power systems, ports, and shipping routes all now under pressure, the crisis is moving deeper into the Gulf’s everyday operating systems.