Iran struck Kuwait and Bahrain after a seventh straight night of US bombing
Iran retaliated on Saturday against targets in Kuwait and Bahrain after seven consecutive nights of American strikes. Oil jumped more than 4% and the Strait of Hormuz is back at the centre of the fear.
The Gulf war entered a Saturday with everyone’s nerves visibly fraying. After a seventh consecutive night of American bombing of Iranian military and logistics sites, Iran hit back — this time at the neighbours hosting US forces. Kuwait took the brunt: a desalination plant was struck and the international airport suspended operations under repeated missile and drone alerts.
The Revolutionary Guards claimed attacks on a US military support centre at Camp Arifjan and said they destroyed a radar at the Ali Al Salem air base, both in Kuwait. Iranian state media also reported strikes in Bahrain, including a base said to be hosting American fighter jets. All of it comes a week after the collapse of a ceasefire that was fragile from birth.
Why is Kuwait being attacked?
Because that is where the American forces are. Tehran warned on Friday that “zero hour” is approaching for an operation against US Central Command ships in the region — and while the US Navy says it is enforcing a naval blockade, Iran claims it has already attacked vessels that broke its navigation rules in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump, for his part, is threatening wider air strikes and has not ruled out a ground incursion on the Iranian coast.
What does this mean for prices?
Markets answered first: oil jumped more than 4% on Friday to its highest level in over a month. Hormuz remains the corridor carrying roughly a fifth of the world’s oil, and every week of escalation reaches European fuel pumps a few days later. The conflict had already spread to Syria and Qatar on day six; anyone with travel booked for the region should check the official advice on the Portuguese foreign ministry’s travel portal.
The week’s pattern is clear and grim: every night of American bombs buys a morning of Iranian retaliation, each one closer to the Gulf’s civilian infrastructure. And while the two sides trade blows, the rest of the world picks up the bill on its energy invoice.
Image: Zairon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
