Kuwait says Iranian strikes hit power plant, oil facility

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait said on Saturday that Iran struck a power and water plant as well as an oil facility, accusing it of targeting civilian infrastructure as the Middle East war escalates.

It followed a seventh night of strikes by the United States on Iranian targets, which prompted attacks by Tehran on US-allied countries in the Gulf.

“Another electricity and water distillation plant was targeted by a hostile attack that led to a fire erupting in one of the plant’s components,” Kuwait’s ministry of electricity and water said in a statement.

It said several power generation units were deactivated due to the attack.

The strike was the second on a Kuwaiti power and water plant in as many days, with the first on Friday also causing a fire and damage.

Saturday’s attacks sparked two blazes at separate locations that left several firemen and a worker injured, Kuwait’s fire service added.

“The repeated targeting of these vital facilities reveals a systematic hostile approach targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure that endangers the lives and safety of civilians,” the foreign ministry said.

Kuwait’s state oil firm reported injuries and “significant material losses” after the attack on the oil facility, according to the state news agency Kuna.

It said the site had been evacuated.

One Kuwaiti resident told AFP there were fears that basic goods might become unavailable if the escalation continues.

“The demand for water and canned goods has increased since this morning amid fears that services or supply chains will be affected,” said Hassan Rayan, 61, a Lebanese man living in Kuwait who works in media.

The country’s national carrier said air traffic at Kuwait International Airport had been temporarily suspended due to rocket and drone attacks, forcing most flights to be rescheduled.

Iran has stepped up attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in recent days, both of which host major US military installations.

In Bahrain, the army said its air defences repelled a wave of “treacherous Iranian aerial assaults” on Saturday, as an AFP journalist in Manama reported hearing blasts after sirens sounded.

The interior ministry said air-raid sirens had sounded five times since dawn, urging residents to take shelter.

The Iranian army earlier said it had targeted an air base in Bahrain used by the United States in retaliation for American strikes, according to Iran’s state broadcaster.

Drones targeted “aircraft shelters and parking areas, fuel storage tanks of the US military at Sheikh Isa Air Base, as well as several connecting bridges in Bahrain”, the Iranian army said.