Iran launched missile and drone strikes against US military positions in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, after Tehran vowed retaliation over an alleged US attack on a wedding in southern Iran that reportedly killed four people, including a child.
Iran’s military said its forces targeted US assets at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait with missiles and drones. Kuwait’s military, however, said it intercepted an Iranian missile and drone attack and condemned the strikes as a “grave breach of the rules of international law.”
Iran also claimed to have struck Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE, although Emirati authorities did not report an attack on the facility.
The latest exchange followed claims by the Iranian Red Crescent that a missile hit a wedding gathering in the coastal town of Kuhestak on Tuesday night, killing four people and injuring more than 50 others.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards chief Ahmad Vahidi said the deaths would be avenged, declaring that the victims’ blood “will not go unanswered.”
US Vice President JD Vance said Washington was investigating the reported wedding strike but expressed strong doubts about Tehran’s account.
“I know that we’re investigating,” Vance said at a White House briefing, while describing Iranian state media as an unreliable source of information about the conflict.
US Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins rejected any suggestion that American forces deliberately targeted civilians, saying the US military does not target civilians.
The renewed hostilities are part of a wider confrontation that has continued to destabilise the region and disrupt the security environment around the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest US bombardment of Iranian targets killed at least 19 people in Iran between Tuesday and Wednesday, following President Donald Trump’s warning that American forces were prepared to strike Iran whenever Washington chose.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency also reported on Thursday that six members of the Iranian naval forces had been killed in US attacks during the week. It was not immediately clear whether those deaths were included in the reported toll of 19.
Tehran has responded with attacks on what it says are US military positions and forces in several locations, including the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Vance, however, said he would not describe the situation as a war, arguing that there was currently no active shooting. He acknowledged that fighting had flared at different locations but maintained that major combat operations following the US-Israeli offensive that began on February 28 lasted about six weeks.
Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, warned Washington that Tehran had adopted a new strategy in the conflict that he said would “shatter your foundations”.
The confrontation has also drawn renewed warnings from Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Iran’s government was under severe pressure and could soon collapse.
“This regime is currently teetering. It is weaker than ever. It is fighting for its survival,” Netanyahu said at an event with Israeli military leaders.
“I am convinced that we can remove this threat once and for all.”
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, separately warned that his country would respond with “great force” if Iran attacked it during the Jewish high holiday season beginning in mid-September.
“For now, they are striking throughout the region except us,” Katz said.
Washington is also seeking to intensify economic pressure on Tehran. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday that proposed sanctions targeting Iran’s economic partners would deliver “absolutely maximum pressure”.
The latest escalation has revived concerns among Iranians about the human cost of the conflict. Hossein Moazami, a 50-year-old self-employed man, described the renewed attacks as “truly distressing” and called for both sides to return to negotiations.
“I hope they all return to the negotiating table because the only people suffering from this are the Iranian people,” he said.
Footage shared by an Iranian government account showed debris and damage at a location identified as the wedding site, while people could be heard screaming in the background.
Ali Mallahi, the bride’s father, described the incident as deeply saddening and expressed relief that the casualties had not been higher.
The conflict began on February 28 when US and Israeli forces attacked Iran, killing its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A subsequent ceasefire broke down in July following attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy route that previously carried about one-fifth of global oil supplies.
With Iranian and US forces now exchanging attacks again, the disputed wedding strike, retaliatory missile and drone attacks and mounting pressure on Iran’s economy have further complicated efforts to prevent another prolonged escalation across the Middle East.