Iran's army says it hit US base in Kuwait with drones

Iran's military launched drone strikes on US facilities at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait on Friday, its army said, marking renewed escalation after a week-long lull in fighting with Washington.

Tehran said the strikes responded to a U.S. attack that killed three family members on Qeshm Island.

What did Iran target in the Kuwait drone strike?

The Iranian army said its drones hit fighter aircraft shelters, satellite communications systems and equipment storage facilities at Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base. Officials described the operation as a direct response to what they called U.S. aggression, including a deadly strike on a residential home on Qeshm Island.

There was no immediate comment from U.S. Central Command, known as CENTCOM, on the reported strikes.

Why is Iran targeting US bases now?

Iran's military said the operation was carried out in response to what it called recent U.S. aggression against the country. It specifically cited a strike on a residential home on Qeshm Island, which local media reported Thursday had killed three members of one family.

The Qeshm Island attack is part of a broader pattern of U.S. strikes on Iran's southern coastal provinces, as Washington works to weaken Tehran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway normally carries about one-fifth of global oil shipments and has been effectively shut by Iran since the war began on Feb. 28.

What happened to the IRGC members killed in Iraq?

Iranian state media reported Friday that the bodies of five Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, members killed in joint U.S.-Saudi strikes in Iraq this week had been returned home. The state-run IRNA news agency said the bodies crossed into Iran through the Mehran border crossing in western Ilam province.

The United States and Saudi Arabia said Wednesday they had struck Iran-backed militants in Iraq in response to recent attacks on the Gulf kingdom. The strikes hit positions belonging to Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi armed coalition that includes several influential pro-Iran groups, killing at least 20 militants, including the five Iranians.

Who oversees IRGC operations outside Iran?

The IRGC's Quds Force oversees Iran's operations beyond its borders, and Guards members killed abroad are often tied to that unit. The United States has targeted Quds Force leadership before in a similar manner.

In 2020, a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad killed Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. Hashed al-Shaabi deputy leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also killed in that same strike.