Kuwait International Airport closed after reported drone and missile strike

Kuwait International Airport has been closed and flights are being diverted after it was reportedly struck by Iranian drones and missiles on Wednesday morning.

The early morning attack caused “severe damage” to the airport’s Terminal 1 (T1) building and left a number of people injured, according to a report by Reuters, citing the General Civil Aviation Authority. Inbound flights are actively being diverted to alternative airports.

Ministry of defence spokesman Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi condemned the incident, describing it as “criminal Iranian aggression”, as reported by the BBC. He also confirmed that the wounded have since received medical care.

The strike on the airport came as part of a wider wave of overnight hostilities in the region.

US Central Command (Centcom) stated that Iran also fired ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, which either broke apart en route or were successfully intercepted by air defences.

In response, the US military launched “self-defence” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, targeting a military ground control station.

The escalation follows the collapse of weekend ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran, which aimed to bring an end to the three-month-long war, which broke out in late February.