US military denies IRGC claim its missile interceptor damaged Kuwait airport

The American military's sharp rebuttal came via a formal statement addressing the incident, which resulted in the death of an Indian national and injuries to dozens of others.

Setting out the facts, CENTCOM stated: "CLAIM: Iran claimed today that it did not attack the passenger terminal at Kuwait International Airport and damage was instead caused by a US missile interceptor. Totally FALSE."

https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2062247958364791088?s=20

The military command firmly asserted: "TRUTH: Iran struck the civilian airport with drones in a deliberate, calculated, and unjustified attack."

This swift American denunciation followed an official denial from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The paramilitary force dismissed allegations that it targeted the airport's civilian passenger terminal, countering that the destruction was actually triggered by a malfunctioning US Patriot air-defence interceptor rather than an incoming Iranian projectile.

According to Iran's state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, an IRGC spokesperson stated that their internal investigation confirmed the IRGC Aerospace Force had not directed any fire towards the civilian facility. The spokesperson instead alleged that American Patriot missiles impacted the terminal building after failing to intercept incoming targets.

The IRGC spokesperson was quoted as saying: "The Aerospace Force did not target Kuwait Airport. The damage was caused by Patriot systems that landed on the terminal after a failed interception attempt."

The conflicting accounts highlight the sharply escalating tensions across West Asia, where both Iran and the United States continue to trade heavy military strikes despite ongoing diplomatic negotiations. The wider Gulf region has borne the brunt of Iran's retaliatory campaigns during this conflict, which initially ignited when the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran, killing its senior leadership in late February.

The latest strike inflicted severe casualties and forced a temporary closure of Kuwait's primary transport hub. Kuwaiti authorities confirmed that the attack claimed the life of an Indian national and left 63 other individuals injured.

In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly censured the cross-border aggression, issuing a plea to all warring factions to protect common citizens and avoid targeting non-military assets.

In its official dispatch, the MEA stated: "We condemn the attack on the Kuwait International Airport today in which an Indian national has died and several of our nationals are injured."

The disruption comes as a severe blow to local transport infrastructure, as Kuwait's international airport had been targeted multiple times during the war and had only managed to fully resume regular flight operations on June 1.

Detailing the scale of the bombardment, Kuwait's Ministry of Defence spokesman Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan stated that 30 ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles were deployed during the operation. He characterised the strike as a "heinous Iranian aggression" that ultimately inflicted "significant material damage to the building".

Tehran has consistently justified its wave of fresh military actions against US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait by accusing both Gulf governments of complicity. Specifically, the Iranian regime claimed the two nations permitted American forces to utilise their sovereign territories to launch hostile operations against an Iranian oil tanker and a communications facility situated on Iran's Qeshm Island.

While the IRGC heavily blamed the United States for the strikes on its tanker and island infrastructure, it maintained that its retaliatory fire was strictly confined to Western military installations.

In a statement published on its official Telegram channel, the Guards stated: "In response to this aggression, the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, which hosts helicopters, as well as the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, were targeted with missiles and drones by the Guards' forces."

While Tehran openly acknowledged striking the US Navy's Middle East headquarters in Bahrain alongside the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, its official statements notably omitted any mention of the strikes that hit the civilian international airport. (ANI)