Iran targets US allies in Gulf as Bahrain intercepts attack

Iran fired on U.S. allies in the Gulf early Wednesday following a night of American bombardment that Iranian officials say included a deadly strike on a wedding party.
The latest violence has ended a monthlong lull in fighting between the U.S. and Iran and raised new questions about how to end a war that has led to a spike in oil prices, roiled the global economy and is posing increasing political problems for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of November midterm elections.
Fighting between the U.S. and Iran has increased since the weekend after the American military hit Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iran was planning to use them to shoot mines into the waterway. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at American bases in Jordan, which were all intercepted.
Iran also fired drones at Kuwait late Tuesday that were intercepted. On Monday, the United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted an incoming Iranian drone over its waters.
Bahrain, which hosts an important U.S. naval base, said its air defense systems intercepted incoming fire from Iran early Wednesday, accusing Iran of “attacks targeting civilians” in a statement issued by its military.
United Arab Emirates says it intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters
Also on Wednesday, Kuwait’s government communications center said a fire broke out at a residential complex in the capital after it was hit by an Iranian drone at dawn. It said the blaze had been contained and there were no casualties.
Elsewhere in the region, in Iraq where Iranian-backed proxy forces are active, Kurdistan’s Counter-Terrorism Directorate said it had intercepted 10 drones laden with explosives in the Irbil area. Iranian television reported that American bases in Irbil had been targeted.