The alleged Iranian drone attack on Kuwait Airport that killed one Indian on Wednesday set the US and Iran at loggerheads over accountability for the strike, while Iran denied responsibility, claiming the explosion was caused by the failure of a US-built interceptor, as Kuwait released CCTV footage purportedly showing a drone resembling Iran’s Shahed unmanned aircraft striking the airport roof.
The strike on Kuwait International Airport marked a dramatic escalation in regional tensions, rekindling anxieties across the Gulf as a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran continues to be tested by recurring hostilities. The attack claimed the life of an Indian national and left 63 others injured, including passengers and airport personnel, several of whom sustained serious wounds.
According to Kuwaiti authorities, multiple hostile drones targeted a passenger terminal, inflicting extensive structural damage and forcing a temporary suspension of operations at the country’s principal air gateway. The terminal had only recently resumed services following a month-long closure linked to the conflict that erupted on February 28.
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry condemned the incident in unequivocal terms, declaring that the country would neither accept nor tolerate such attacks. In a sharp diplomatic response, it announced the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rejected the accusation, insisting that it had not launched any strike against Kuwait. Instead, it alleged, without presenting evidence, that the damage resulted from a malfunctioning American interceptor missile.
The US Central Command dismissed the claim, describing the attack as deliberate, calculated and unjustified. Meanwhile, footage released by Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation appeared to show a triangular, delta-wing drone slamming into the terminal, a design closely associated with Iran’s Shahed series.
Although the airport partially resumed operations through an alternative terminal, commercial activity remained severely disrupted, underscoring the vulnerability of Gulf infrastructure amid intensifying geopolitical fault lines.