Iran attacks Kuwait, damages U.S. missile system and raises Strait of Hormuz risk

Iran launched a sudden large‑scale attack on Kuwait on the afternoon of 12 July 2026, firing three ballistic missiles that struck U.S. ground‑based ATACMS missile systems. The strike also hit three ground checkpoints along Kuwait’s northern border with Iraq and an offshore drilling platform operated by Kuwait Oil Company, causing material damage and wounding one worker.

At the same time, explosions were reported in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran announced the closure of the strait, while the United States, through CENTCOM and President Donald Trump, said the waterway remains open for all legal traffic. Trump claimed the United States had hit Iran “very hard” the previous night and that a diplomatic agreement had been near completion before the latest escalation. Iranian military adviser Mohsen Rezaei called the strait’s passage “more important than dozens of atomic bombs.”