Multiple Gulf Arab states that host US assets targeted in Iran retaliation

Aljazeera: Iran has targeted United States assets across the Gulf Arab states in retaliation for a huge joint attack on Iran by the US and Israel, as the region’s worst fears of being ignited in the flames of a sustained war loom.

The Iranian government on Saturday confirmed its attacks on several targets, according to the Fars news agency, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, where US airbases are hosted.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed all Israeli and US military targets in the Middle East have been struck “by the powerful blows of Iranian missiles”.

“This operation will continue relentlessly until the enemy is decisively defeated,” it said. All US assets throughout the region are considered legitimate targets for Iran’s army, it added.

At least one person has been killed in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, after several missiles launched from Iran were intercepted, according to the country’s state news agency.

Bahrain says a missile attack targeted the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, which it hosts.

The government called it a “treacherous attack” and “a blatant violation of the kingdom’s sovereignty and security”.

Al Jazeera Arabic has meanwhile confirmed the sound of explosions in Kuwait, home to the US military’s Central Command headquarters.

In Qatar, the Defense Ministry says it “thwarted” several attacks on the country.

“The Ministry of Defense confirms that the threat was dealt with immediately upon detection, in accordance with the pre-approved security plan, and that all missiles were intercepted before reaching Qatari territory,” it said.

Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE have all closed their airspaces.

Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Doha, said the only country in the Gulf Cooperation Council that Iran has not struck today thus far is Oman.

Oman has for years served as a liaison between Iran and other nations in the region and beyond. It has played a central role in recent indirect talks between Iran and the US in Oman and Geneva.

Oman’s foreign minister on Friday had voiced optimism that peace was “within reach” as Iran had agreed during the talks never to stockpile enriched uranium. Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi described the development as a major breakthrough. Hours later, Israel and the US attacked, and those talks are now dead and buried.

The GCC is an alliance of six countries in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, established in 1981 to promote economic, security, cultural and social cooperation.

“Here in Doha, in the last few hours, we’ve heard at least a dozen explosions. The majority of them sound like they were Patriot defence missiles intercepting incoming Iran missiles,” Basravi said.

“As far as Iran is concerned, with the US and Israel firing the first shot in this latest go-round, everything is now probably fair game,” he added.