Iran launched a series of retaliatory missile and drone strikes Saturday against U.S. military bases across the Gulf region, hitting key American installations in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in a major escalation of hostilities following coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian territory.

The US Central Command confirmed damage was caused to American military sites in the Middle East, but said no troops were hurt.

The Islamic Republic’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted several sites hosting United States forces, including Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait, Al-Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates and the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. 

Smoke was seen rising over the Fifth Fleet headquarters after missiles struck the naval logistics facility in Bahrain, while residents in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City reported explosions and air-raid alerts, according to local and regional reports. 

Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said that Ali al-Salem Air Base came under attack by a number of ballistic missiles, all of which were intercepted by Kuwaiti air defense systems.

“Ali Al-Salem Air Base came under attack by a number of ballistic missiles. This morning, the Kuwaiti Air Defense Force successfully intercepted them, resulting in fragments and debris from the interception operation falling in the vicinity of the base,” ministry’s spokesperson, Colonel Staff Saud Abdulaziz al-Otaibi, said in a statement.

Later during the day, a drone targeted Kuwait International Airport, resulting in “minor injuries” to a number of employees, in addition to “limited material damage” to the passenger building, according to The General Authority of Civil Aviation in Kuwait.

Qatar’s defence ministry said its Patriot air defences intercepted incoming missiles near Al Udeid Air Base — home to the U.S. Air Force’s forward command in the region — and urged personnel to shelter in place. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the targeting of Qatari territory with ballistic missiles, considering it a flagrant violation of its national sovereignty, a direct assault on its security and an unacceptable escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region. It added that the country reserves the right of response following the Iranian attack, in according with international law. 

In the UAE, air defenses activated and explosions were heard near Al Dhafra Air Base, where elements of the U.S. Air Force are based. The Emirati defense ministry has confirmed in a statement that the country was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles, and air defences successfully intercepted a “number” of them. The statement read the fall of shrapnel on a residential area in Abu Dhabi resulted in some material damage and the death of one person of Asian nationality.

“The ministry condemns this attack in the strongest terms, stressing the state’s categorical rejection of targeting civilian objects, facilities and national institutions, and emphasising that such acts represent a dangerous escalation and a cowardly act that threatens the security and safety of civilians and undermines stability,” it said. “The ministry stresses that this targeting is a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and international law, and that the state reserves its full right to respond to this escalation and take all necessary measures to protect its territory,” the statement read, adding that it was “fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats”.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed the situation in the region with the president of the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement from his office.

“Their Highnesses affirmed the solidarity of the two countries with all brotherly Arab countries that are subjected to aggression, and the continuation of joint coordination in a way that preserves the security of the region and the dignity of its peoples,” it added.

Likewise, Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry condemned attacks on its soil, which it said were conducted by Iran “in flagrant violation” of its airspace and of international law. It said Kuwait reserves the right to respond in a manner that is “commensurate with the scale and nature of this attack” and warned that further military activity would undermine the region’s stability.

A statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed that Iran targeted Riyadh and the kingdom’s eastern region, adding that the attacks were repelled.

“These attacks cannot be justified under any pretext or in any way, and they came despite the Iranian authorities knowing that the Kingdom had confirmed that it would not allow its airspace and territory to be used to target Iran,” the statement read.

Saudi Arabia condemned in the “strongest terms” the Iranian attacks on the Gulf countries, warning of “dire consequence” over the continued violation of “state sovereignty and the principles of international law.”

In response to the unfolding military exchanges, airspace closures were ordered across parts of the Gulf, with Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE suspending flights as a precautionary measure amid fears of further missile launches.