Kuwait said its air-defence systems intercepted incoming missiles and drones, without identifying what the weapons had targeted. The incident marked a new flare-up during a fragile ceasefire in the three-month war between the United States and Iran.
US Central Command said the missiles were fired from Iran. Iran said it had retaliated for attacks earlier in the week by striking a US base in an unnamed Gulf country. The Revolutionary Guard acknowledged launching a response against the air base used for those attacks but did not say whether Kuwait was the target. Kuwait hosts US Army Central's forward headquarters as well as air and naval bases.
Kuwait's Foreign Ministry condemned what it called Iranian aggression. US Central Command described the attack on a major US Gulf ally as a serious ceasefire violation. Kuwait had previously faced attacks from Iran and Iran-aligned Shia militias in Iraq before an April ceasefire.
The exchange followed US military action near the Strait of Hormuz. American officials said US forces shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the waterway and struck an Iranian ground-control site in Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a fifth. Iran's Revolutionary Guard confirmed an attack around Bandar Abbas International Airport before announcing its retaliation.
At the same time, US and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative understanding to extend their ceasefire by 60 days and begin new talks on Iran's nuclear programme, according to a US official. Iran had not immediately confirmed the arrangement. Vice President JD Vance said an agreement was provisional and that President Donald Trump's approval remained uncertain while wording was still under discussion.
The proposed memorandum would bar Iranian tolls in the Strait of Hormuz and require mines to be removed within 30 days, the US official said. In return, Washington would gradually ease its naval blockade on Iranian ports and relax sanctions to permit more Iranian oil sales. These terms were not final and rested on one side's account of the negotiations.
The strait had carried about one-fifth of internationally traded oil and natural gas before the war. Iran was allowing about two dozen commercial ships through each day, compared with more than 100 before the conflict, while charging at least some vessels. Its restrictions had contributed to a steep increase in global oil prices.
Future talks were also expected to address Iran's stock of uranium enriched to 60 percent. The International Atomic Energy Agency placed that stock at 440.9 kilograms. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear work is peaceful and had not publicly agreed to surrender the material.
The interceptions over Kuwait therefore illustrated the central risk surrounding the tentative diplomatic opening: military exchanges were continuing even as negotiators tried to extend the ceasefire.
