Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched 230 drones towards sites hosting United States troops across the Gulf region on Wednesday, as multiple countries reported interceptions and strikes and Kuwait confirmed the death of an 11-year-old girl after falling debris hit her.
In a statement carried by Iranian state-linked outlets, the IRGC said the attacks were among its “first powerful steps” in the war, as Iran continues retaliatory strikes on US military assets and allied infrastructure in the region following the coordinated US–Israeli offensive on 28 February.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Health said the child died after being struck by shrapnel. “Resuscitation was performed in the ambulance while the girl was being transported to the hospital, and attempts continued for nearly half an hour upon arrival at Al-Amiri Hospital. However, she passed away due to her injuries,” the ministry said in a post on X.
The IRGC said its targets included the Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, and a base in Erbil in northern Iraq. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the IRGC’s total figure for the number of drones launched, and officials in several countries emphasised that most incoming drones and missiles were intercepted.
In Iraq, Al Jazeera Arabic reported that a drone targeted a logistical support facility of the US embassy in Baghdad near Baghdad International Airport. Iraq’s security media cell said a similar attempted drone attack near the airport on Tuesday was foiled.
In the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, two drones targeted a US military base and a hotel in Erbil, security sources told Reuters. Separately, footage shared online and verified by Al Jazeera showed flames rising from a building in Sulaimaniyah on Tuesday evening amid reports of an explosion, after the area was hit by a drone strike.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence said it intercepted and destroyed a drone in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, without immediately giving further details on where it was launched from or whether there were casualties. Later on Wednesday, a projectile hit the Ras Tanura refinery, Saudi Aramco’s largest domestic oil refinery, according to two sources cited by Reuters. The report followed an earlier incident in which Saudi Arabia shut down operations at the plant after a fire that officials said was caused by debris from the interception of Iranian drones.
In the United Arab Emirates, strikes were reported around the US consulate in Dubai and a port in Fujairah. The UAE’s Defence Ministry said its air defences downed three ballistic missiles and 121 drones, while eight drones landed inside the country.
Qatar’s Defence Ministry said it intercepted 10 drones and two cruise missiles launched from Iran. Qatar Airways said flight operations remained “temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace”, highlighting the wider disruption caused even when attacks are largely intercepted.
The United States State Department said on Wednesday it had authorised non-emergency government personnel to evacuate, after US diplomatic facilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE came under drone attacks on Tuesday.
France also signalled growing concern about spillover across the Gulf. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said French Rafale jets had neutralised Iranian drones targeting the UAE, where hundreds of French navy, air force and army personnel are based.
The strikes come as the Iran–US–Israel conflict intensifies following the 28 February attacks on Iran, and amid reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed. Iran has since broadened its retaliatory campaign beyond Israel, targeting US military assets and allied infrastructure across Gulf states that host Western forces.
Despite the scale of Wednesday’s reported barrage, Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Doha, said the volume and frequency of attacks on Gulf states appeared to be easing compared with earlier days. He warned, however, that the disruption caused by even limited strikes can be significant. “It does not take too many attacks to close airspace or cause disruptions,” Basravi said, adding that a sustained, low level of attacks could continue to pose a problem for Gulf Cooperation Council countries caught up in the conflict.
Officials across the region have not provided comprehensive damage assessments. However, the confirmed civilian death in Kuwait, renewed concerns about the vulnerability of Saudi oil infrastructure, and continuing airspace disruption underline the wider risks as the war expands beyond direct Iran–Israel exchanges into a regional confrontation touching multiple Gulf capitals.