Iran attacks Kuwait and US to test ceasefire

Iran launched a new series of deadly attacks in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday as it exchanged strikes with the United States, the latest exchange threatening the fragile ceasefire and stalling peace talks between the two countries.

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One person was killed and flights were suspended in Kuwait, officials said, after missile and drone strikes, including an attack on its international airport. The US military said it shot down Iranian drones near the Strait of Hormuz and struck the Iranian island of Qeshm a day earlier.

Repeated military exchanges between Washington and Tehran, as well as Israel’s intensifying campaign in Lebanon, have strained efforts to end the war and reopen the crucial trade route. The two sides have issued mixed messages on the status of the negotiations, with President Donald Trump insisting they were continuing after Iran signaled it might withdraw.

In a recorded interview broadcast Wednesday, Trump acknowledged calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “crazy” during a terse call on Lebanon earlier this week. Trump also said it was “unlikely” that the U.S. blockade on Iran would still be in place by Labor Day, adding that he believed the situation “would resolve itself fairly quickly.”

He warned that ultimately he would have to make a “determination: do we sign a deal or do we do it the other way? And the other way is not nice.”

The latest flare-up in the conflict saw Kuwait report on Wednesday morning that one person had been killed in an Iranian drone attack. Another 63 people were injured, according to the Kuwaiti Health Ministry.

The attack caused significant damage to Terminal 1 of Kuwait International Airport, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan said, and all air traffic was briefly suspended as a result.

Videos posted online and geotagged by NBC News showed a blazing fire inside the airport, surrounded by debris and thick smoke as people ran for cover. Another shows the destroyed roof, with rubble strewn across the ground as rescue workers surveyed the aftermath.

Kuwait expelled two Iranian diplomats following the strikes, condemning the “blatant violation” of its territorial integrity and targeting of civilian infrastructure. Kuwait’s foreign ministry warned Iran that it had “a full and inherent right to defend itself and take all necessary measures to preserve its sovereignty.”

Debris burns on the ground in a parking lot following reports of missile and drone attacks, in Sabah Al Nasser, Kuwait, on Wednesday, in a video posted on social media. via Reuters

US Central Command said late Tuesday that Iran had launched several ballistic missiles toward its regional neighbors, while asserting that all attacks “failed to hit their targets.”

Two missiles fired at Kuwait failed or broke up en route, while three missiles launched at Bahrain were immediately intercepted by U.S. and Bahraini air defense forces, it said in an article on

It said US forces also carried out what they described as “self-defense strikes” against an Iranian military ground control station on the island of Qeshm.

CENTCOM announced earlier that it had also neutralized a Botswana-flagged tanker as it headed toward Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil terminal, saying in a post on

It says a U.S. aircraft ultimately disabled the ship by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room, preventing the tanker from reaching Iran, with the post noting that the U.S. military has “neutralized six commercial ships and redirected 122” since launching a blockade against Iranian ports on April 13.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it “strongly condemns the aggressive act of the US terrorist army that attacked an Iranian oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and attacked a telecommunications mast on Qeshm Island.” He said the attacks represented a violation of the tenuous ceasefire agreement between the two countries, as they seek to negotiate a broader deal.

Satellite imagery of Qeshm Island in Hormozgan Province, Iran. Gallo Images via Getty Images

As negotiations progress, Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz – a vital trade route through which about 20% of the world’s oil passes – has limited global energy supplies since the US-Israeli war began in late February.

Oil prices rose overnight, with Brent, an international benchmark, up 2% to $98 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military launched new strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday as it exchanged occasional attacks with Iran-backed Hezbollah, although Trump announced that the two sides had agreed to de-escalate.

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the village of Qlaileh, seen Tuesday from the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre.Mohammed Zaatari/AP

The intervention came after Tehran threatened to withdraw from peace talks following Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Trump had a tense interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, a U.S. official familiar with the call and another source familiar with the call told NBC News.

Trump provided insight into that call during his interview with the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast that aired Wednesday.

Asked if he called Netanyahu “crazy,” as first reported by Axios, Trump responded, “I did.”

“I wouldn’t say angry,” Trump said of his approach, adding that he was “a little disturbed by the fact that he (Netanyahu) is constantly fighting with Lebanon.” He nevertheless said, “I really like Bibi and I worked very well with him,” using Netanyahu’s nickname.

The tensions between the close allies come as Netanyahu faces domestic pressure to continue hitting Hezbollah as he prepares for new elections this fall.

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