New footage has emerged showing the true extent of the damage wrought on Kuwait International Airport during an escalation of conflict in the region.
The attack came early on Wednesday, local time, killing an Indian national and injuring 63 people.
Kuwait’s first deputy prime minister, Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah, visited the airport to “assess the damage caused by the Iranian attack on the terminal”.
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Footage shared on social media of the visit shows large holes and twisted metal in the airport roof, as well as debris and water covering the floor as fire fighters begin clearing the site.
Saud Al-Sabah said technical inspections and comprehensive assessments of the damage will be conducted to evaluate the impact and extent of the damage on the airport’s facilities and infrastructure.
Flights and air traffic in Kuwait have been suspended in the wake of the attack, Kuwait news outlet KUNA reported.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the nation “strongly rejects Iran’s aggressive attacks which lead to an increased escalation and increased tension as well as undermines the security and stability of the region”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in Washington shortly after the attack.
Rubio condemned the “outrageous and unacceptable” attack, and expressed condolences for the casualties, according to a State Department readout.
“The Secretary reiterated the commitment of the United States to Kuwait’s security, to ensuring that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and restoration of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz,” it read.
Kuwait’s military said it intercepted 13 Iranian missiles and 17 drones since dawn on Wednesday.
What caused the escalation
The US and Iran have traded fire in one of the biggest nights of attacks since the ceasefire began in April, with negotiations on perilous ground after days of back-and-forth and rising frustrations on all sides.
Tuesday night’s hostilities appear to have begun when the US military used a Hellfire missile to hit a Botswana-flagged oil tanker heading toward an Iranian port on Kharg Island.
The ship did not comply with the US blockade of Iranian ports, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).
In response, Iran said it fired missiles at a Liberian-flagged vessel.
But the more serious escalation came after the US struck an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island, near the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Iran to fire missiles and drones at the Gulf nations of Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, meanwhile, said its attacks on Kuwait were in response to the “brazen and blatant aggression” by US forces.
The IRGC claimed it fired at least 10 ballistic missiles at Kuwait.
Kuwait announced the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats following the attack, condemning the “flagrant violation” of its territorial integrity and the targeting of civilian infrastructure.
– With CNN
