Kuwait on Sunday said Iran had struck a power and water plant in its latest attack on energy infrastructure in the Gulf state, as Bahrain similarly accused Tehran of targeting civilian sites amidst mounting hostilities between Iran and the United States.
The assault on Kuwait was the third attack in as many days on a power and water facility, with authorities saying an oil facility had also been hit on Saturday. The Gulf state has urged residents to limit their power usage as repeated Iranian attacks add further strain to its power network.
Iran had earlier claimed it targeted U.S. assets in Kuwait.
“As a result of the Iranian aggression on Kuwait, a power and water distillation plant, for the second time in two days, has been subjected to an attack that caused a fire in some facilities of the station,” read a statement issued by Kuwait’s ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy on X.
“A large number of power generator units were affected, prompting an emergency protocol to be launched,” it said, adding firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze.
Earlier on Saturday, Kuwait and Bahrain’s militaries said they were responding to Iranian aerial attacks, and air raid sirens sounded in the two Gulf countries as Tehran pressed its retaliatory strikes across the region. Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, also accused Iran of targeting civilians in its attacks.
On Sunday, Iran claimed it had targeted two U.S. bases in Kuwait in retaliation for American attacks on Iranian territory.
The mounting tensions follow the deaths of at least two U.S. servicemen in Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, according to CENTCOM.
More attacks planned
According to Israeli broadcaster KAN, the United States has informed Israel it plans to intensify its military campaign against Iran over the coming days. It claimed Washington had informed Tel Aviv it prefers to keep Israel out of the current phase of the escalation, but has shared assessments indicating that Iran could launch attacks on Israel.
U.S. forces hit Iran for a ninth consecutive day on Monday, as Tehran claimed two oil tankers attempting to traverse the Strait of Hormuz had exploded and been immobilized.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would continue to target Iran while it attacked global commercial shipping. “The Strait of Hormuz are international waterways, and they continue to launch against the ships in that international waterway,” he said. “As long as Iran insists on controlling an international waterway, we’re gonna have to respond to that. The United States always remains open to a diplomatic solution,” he added.
Amidst the violence, oil prices have surged 2% to more than $90 a barrel.