Iran attacks Gulf nations, further straining ceasefire

Rescue workers use an excavator as they search for people under the rubble of a building that was hit in an Israeli strike in the southern port city of Tyre, June 2, 2026. (Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times)

By MAX BEARAK, VIVIAN NEREIM and SHIRIN HAKIM

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday repeated the Trump administration’s claim that the war with Iran “has concluded” even as U.S. allies Kuwait and Bahrain were reeling from a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones fired at them earlier in the day.

The barrage was one of the biggest attacks on Persian Gulf nations since the U.S.-Iran ceasefire took effect in early April. Kuwait’s only international airport was struck, killing a civilian and injuring scores of others, Kuwaiti authorities said. Videos showed one of the airport’s terminals ablaze and with a gaping hole in its roof.

Iran has attacked the Gulf’s major energy exporters and trade hubs since the beginning of the war to increase economic pressure on the Trump administration and to punish neighbors that host U.S. troops. Negotiations aimed at reopening the vital shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz have dragged on without a resolution.

Iran and the United States traded blame for the attack on the airport. A spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had not fired at the terminal and the damage was caused when U.S. Patriot systems failed to intercept Iranian missiles and fell on the terminal. The U.S. military responded in a statement on social media, calling the Iranian claim “Totally FALSE” and saying that Iran had “struck the civilian airport with drones.”

A marked uptick in hostilities in recent days has called into question a ceasefire that both sides say remains in effect.

The U.S. Central Command said in an earlier statement that Iran had also launched missiles and drones at Bahrain on Wednesday, as well as at civilian mariners in nearby waters. Those attacks did not hit their targets, the military said.

The Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain and an American vessel it identified as the Panaya.

The strike on Kuwait International Airport’s Terminal 1 killed an Indian resident of the country and wounded at least 63 other people, according to Kuwaiti authorities. The attack included 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones, they said.

In recent years, U.S. forces have operated out of a site within that airport complex, but it was unclear if they are still doing so or if that site was the intended target.

By early afternoon local time, some flights had resumed from a different terminal.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

— U.S.-Israel relations: President Donald Trump said in an interview with The New York Post published Wednesday that he had used expletives in a recent phone conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel but said they have a broadly positive relationship. In a separate interview, Netanyahu acknowledged what he described as “tactical disagreements” with the president but said the two men “always find a way to work them out.”

— Ayatollah meeting: Trump also told the Post he hoped to meet with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, “at some point.” It was far from clear whether the hard-line ayatollah — who is believed to have been injured in U.S.-Israeli strikes and has not been seen in public for months — would be willing to meet with Trump.

— Lebanon fighting: Israel continued to target the Iranian-backed, Lebanese group Hezbollah on Wednesday, killing at least six people in strikes near the southern city of Tyre, Lebanon’s state-run news agency reported. The fighting came even as Israeli and Lebanese officials were scheduled to meet in Washington on Wednesday for another round of U.S.-mediated talks.

— Market reaction: Oil prices rose Wednesday as military strikes in the Middle East cast doubt on efforts by Iran and the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas shipping route.