Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
President Trump on Wednesday downplayed Iranian attacks that targeted US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, saying they may have been "slightly provoked" since the US launched strikes against Iran beforehand.
"There's a reason for everything, and we hit them pretty hard last night," the president told reporters in the Oval Office. "Some people would say they were slightly provoked because we took a strong action for a different reason, so they were reciprocating."
Iran launched the missile and drone attacks after the US bombed a commercial ship attempting to reach Iran and launched strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island.
During the Iranian attack on Kuwait, a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s international airport was hit, and at least one person was killed, and more than 60 were injured. Local officials said the terminal was hit by Iranian drones, which Iran denied, claiming that it was struck by an errant US Patriot missile interceptor.
Kuwait’s aviation authority later released a video of the strike that appeared to show a drone striking the terminal.
US Central Command denied Iran’s allegation in a statement that came after it claimed that Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait "fell short or broke apart en route" and a second wave of Iranian drones failed to hit their intended targets.
"An additional wave of Iranian drones attempting to attack US forces in Kuwait failed to impact intended targets tonight. US Central Command air defenses successfully downed multiple drones and ensured no American personnel or assets were harmed," CENTCOM said.
Despite the casualties at the Kuwait airport, Trump said the Iranian attacks were "not a big deal" and that the US "nipped it in the bud very quickly." When asked if the ceasefire was still in place, he said, "In that part of the world, ‘ceasefire’ is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner."
Iran’s attacks were its most significant response yet to US violations of the ceasefire, representing a new Iranian strategy to avoid more “tit-for-tat” strikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowed on Wednesday that Tehran would continue to have a strong response to any US attacks.
"Our Armed Forces are conducting self-defense strikes on sites the US is permitted to use to attack civilian shipping and violate the ceasefire," Araghchi wrote on X in a post that included a video of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praising the UAE and Kuwait for being cooperative with US military operations.
"Any hostile act will be met with an immediate, decisive response. What sanctions and war failed to achieve won’t be won with more war," the top Iranian diplomat added.