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Iran fires missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain, U.S. strikes Iran facility
+800 words added -797 words removed
− By
The Associated Press
People gather on paddleboards in shallow water as cargo and service vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, June 1, 2026.
+ Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating.
− Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP hide caption
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait briefly shut the country's main airport Wednesday after Iranian drones heavily damaged it and killed one person — the latest salvo in a series of back-and-forth attacks by Tehran and Washington that have tested a fragile ceasefire.
+ These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.
− The strikes came as semiofficial Iranian news agencies said the country had stopped communicating with mediators about extending a ceasefire in the war with the U.S.
+ By
The Associated Press
People gather on paddleboards in shallow water as cargo and service vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday.
− and Israel.
+ Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP hide caption
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait briefly shut its main airport Wednesday after Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal, killed one person and wounded dozens — the latest in back-and-forth attacks by Iran and the U.S.
− A regional official said Tehran wanted the truce in Lebanon enforced before returning to talks.
+ that test a fragile ceasefire.
The strike reinforced the risks to residents and travelers in Gulf countries that had considered themselves relative havens before the war, now in its fourth month.
Talks have dragged on for weeks as mediators seek a more enduring truce in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
+ They are increasingly strained by Israel's broadening war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
A regional official said Iran wanted a separate ceasefire in Lebanon enforced before returning to talks.
− President Donald Trump said negotiations were continuing.
+ President Donald Trump said negotiations continue.
− Those talks have dragged on for weeks, and repeated exchanges of strikes in the Gulf region and Israel's broadening war in Lebanon are further straining the efforts.
+ The fighting in Lebanon has also exposed a rift between Israel and the U.S., which is pushing its ally for restraint. In a measure of the friction, Trump acknowledged that he'd called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "crazy" during a phone call earlier this week. Nonetheless, both men say their rapport is solid.
− All the while, Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial artery for the world's oil and natural gas — and the U.S.
+ Iran maintains its hold on the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial waterway for the world's oil and natural gas and related products like fertilizer — and the U.S.
− has continued its blockade of Iranian ports, ensuring that global fuel prices remain high and the effects of the conflict are felt well beyond the region.
+ continues its blockade of Iranian ports. Global fuel prices remain high, and the effects of the conflict are felt well beyond the region.
− Defense Ministry spokesperson Brig.
+ In Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he, Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio huddled for three hours at the White House Monday as Trump worked on "that final piece" of getting commerce flowing.
+ Rubio, meanwhile, faced grilling in Congress over the war and its economic fallout.
A spokesperson for Kuwait's Defense Ministry, Brig.
− Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi said that "a number of hostile drones" had targeted Kuwait International Airport's passenger building, severely damaging the building and injuring "a number of individuals."
Later, Kuwait's Foreign Ministry said at least one person had been killed.
+ Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, said "a number of hostile drones" targeted a passenger building at Kuwait International Airport. It had opened only Monday after a months-long closure because of the war, which began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
− State media reported that Kuwait Airways suspended operations.
+ India's embassy said the person killed was an Indian national.
− Civil aviation authorities said that the airport partially reopened later in the day, with Kuwait Airways flights resuming from a different terminal from the one that was hit.
+ Authorities said 63 were wounded, including passengers and workers, and some suffered serious injuries.
Kuwait's Defense Ministry said it destroyed over a dozen missiles and a similar number of drones from Iran.
The airport partially reopened later, with Kuwait Airways flights resuming at a different terminal, according to civil aviation authorities.
− No other flights would be operating, they said.
+ No other flights were operating.
− The airport only reopened Monday after closing early in the war.
+ Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit Burj al-Shamali village near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Tuesday. Mohammed Zaatari/AP hide caption
The Foreign Ministry said Kuwait will "neither accept nor tolerate" the attacks and was kicking out two Iranian diplomats. Such expulsions are an established means of communicating international ire.
− military said Iran fired two missiles at Kuwait that fell apart en route, and that it had "downed multiple drones" targeting American forces in the country.
+ military said two Iranian missiles fell apart en route to Kuwait and that it "downed multiple drones" targeting American forces in the country.
− and Bahraini forces intercepted missiles aimed at the Gulf kingdom, which is home to the U.S Navy's 5th fleet.
+ and Bahraini forces intercepted missiles aimed at the Gulf kingdom, home to the U.S.
+ Navy's 5th fleet.
− The U.S. military said it launched strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait.
+
Both the U.S.
− It said the strikes were in retaliation for attacks on Qeshm Island.
+ and Iran said they were retaliating for earlier attacks or attempted ones.
+ The U.S. military also said it launched strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
− strikes on Qeshm Island, where it said a telecommunications tower was struck, and other previous strikes.
+ strikes on the island, where it said a telecommunications tower was struck, and other previous strikes.
− A senior Emirati diplomat called on Wednesday for "a firm, unified, and cohesive Gulf position" against Iran following the attacks.
"This aggression does not target a specific state, but rather all of us," Anwar Gargash wrote on the X platform.
Iran's Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both believed to be close to the Guard, reported that Iran's negotiators have stopped communicating with ceasefire mediators as tensions flared in Israel's separate but related fight against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
A regional official involved in the mediation, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks, told The Associated Press that Iran had not communicated at all on Tuesday after saying that a ceasefire needed to be enforced in Lebanon for negotiations to continue.
Trump called reports of a cessation in talks "false and erroneous."
"The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago and today," Trump said in a social media post.
+ Israeli forces have moved deeper into Lebanon than at any time in over a quarter-century, while Hezbollah has launched rocket and drone attacks.
− "Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, 'It's time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal."
Israeli forces have moved deeper into Lebanon than at any time in over a quarter of a century — despite a nominal ceasefire in place between Israel and Hezbollah.
+ The declared ceasefire in Lebanon is officially in place, and no side has formally withdrawn or declared it over even as attacks continue.
− Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit Burj al-Shamali village near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
+ Iran insists that any larger potential truce must quell the fighting in Lebanon.
− Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo hide caption
Lebanon has emerged as a key sticking point in Trump's efforts to sign a ceasefire deal with Iran.
+ Netanyahu wants to keep the issues separate and is under domestic pressure to strike Hezbollah as he prepares for elections this fall.
− Tehran insists that any larger potential truce in the war there must also quell the fighting in Lebanon.
+ In a podcast interview released Wednesday, Trump confirmed a report that he had called Netanyahu "crazy" Monday in a phone conversation peppered with an expletive.
− Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to keep the issues separate and is under heavy domestic pressure to strike Hezbollah as he prepares for new elections this fall.
+ Trump told The New York Post's "Pod Force One" that he was "a little bit perturbed" that Israel's fight with Hezbollah was holding back talks with Iran.
− The fighting has exposed a rift between close allies Israel and the U.S., with the U.S.
+ Still, Trump said his relationship with Netanyahu was good, and "we've worked very well together."
Netanyahu responded that he and Trump sometimes have "tactical disagreements" but have "common goals" and "agree on the main things."
"He respects me.
− pushing for restraint and Israel seeking to step up the military pressure on Hezbollah.
A person familiar with the situation said Netanyahu and Trump had a "tense" conversation earlier this week.
+ I respect him.
− The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media. The person didn't elaborate on the details of the call.
+ We always find a way to work out our differences," the prime minister said in an interview on the American business-news channel CNBC.