DUBAI, SEP 3 (AP): Sirens sounded in Kuwait early Thursday, where air defences intercepted missiles and drones during a “blatant Iranian aggression,” the Defence Ministry said on X.
It came after US allies Bahrain and Jordan said their air defence systems also intercepted several Iranian air attacks Wednesday.
Fighting between the US and Iran has increased this week after the US hit Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, saying Iran was planning to use them to shoot mines into the waterway.
Ship traffic through Strait of Hormuz remains below pre-war levels
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below pre-war levels due to the risk of Iranian attack if ships do not comply with an Iranian vetting regime. The decline is in sharp contrast to the unhindered navigation before the war. Last week there were 102 transits and 126 the week before, according to shipping data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence. That compares with 130 or more per day before the war. Significant amounts of oil, however, continue to flow through the strait due to a shuttle trade in which tanker operators risk going through a southern route near the coast of Oman under the guidance of US forces. It’s difficult for observers to estimate how much oil is reaching global markets through this dark shuttle channel because the ships turn off tracking systems that show where they are. Before the war, some 15 million barrels per day went through the strait.
Over the past 28 days, 5 million barrels a day have exited the strait on average, according to TankerTrackers.com.
Iran state media says US strikes on Iran killed 3 pilots
A report by Mizanonline.ir, affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, said that US strikes on Tuesday killed one navy and two air force pilots. It also reported that three other members of the navy were killed during the attacks.
Iran previously said four members of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, three members of the Guard’s volunteer Basij forces and seven unidentified people died in the US attacks. A total of 108 people were wounded in the latest round of attacks, state broadcaster the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting quoted the country’s health minister as saying.
Iranian state media also said one of the US strikes hit a wedding party, leaving at least four people dead and dozens wounded.
The US Central Command said Tuesday’s strikes focused on Iranian military targets, including air defense sites, radar systems and maritime assets.