The exchange of attacks involving Iran, the United States and Gulf states intensified around June 2, 2026, with missiles and drones directed toward Kuwait and Bahrain and a US strike reported on Iran’s Qeshm Island.
US Central Command said American forces and Bahrain’s air defences intercepted three missiles launched toward Bahrain. According to CENTCOM, two other Iranian missiles aimed at Kuwait either broke apart or fell short, while US forces destroyed three one-way attack drones sent toward civilian mariners travelling through regional waters.
CENTCOM also reported a later wave of Iranian drones attempting to strike US forces in Kuwait. The command said multiple drones were brought down without harming American personnel or assets. It separately said US forces conducted what it described as self-defence strikes against an Iranian military ground-control station on Qeshm Island, with no US personnel injured.
Iran presented the sequence differently. The official IRIB outlet claimed American bases in Kuwait had been hit in response to US actions in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and Qeshm Island. The Warzone said it could not independently verify the Iranian claims or accompanying videos.
Alerts, interceptions and airport damage
Kuwait’s army said its air defences were confronting hostile missile and drone attacks and explained that residents might hear explosions caused by interceptions. Authorities asked the public to follow official safety instructions. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry activated a siren and urged people to stay calm and move to the nearest safe location.
Kuwait’s Defence Ministry later said hostile drones had targeted the T1 passenger building at Kuwait International Airport. Its spokesman, Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, reported substantial material damage and injuries to several people, who received medical treatment. The ministry said the armed forces were monitoring developments with other authorities.
The confrontation also extended to commercial shipping. CENTCOM said it enforced blockade measures against the unladen, Botswana-flagged tanker M/T Lexie as the ship headed through international waters toward Kharg Island. The command alleged that the crew repeatedly ignored directions over 24 hours. A US aircraft then fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room, disabling the vessel and preventing it from reaching Iran. CENTCOM described it as the sixth commercial ship disabled under the blockade and said another 122 had been redirected.
The Warzone characterised the missile and drone launches as another reciprocal exchange during an ongoing ceasefire. The precise action that initiated this particular sequence was unclear in its report. Separately, Al Jazeera’s June 3 account placed the developments within continuing US-Israel hostilities involving Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon, and reported no progress in US-Iran negotiations.
