"Criminal Iranian aggression," Kuwait's defence ministry spokesman said, after surveillance footage showed Kuwait International Airport was struck by Iranian drones. The clips, released by Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, captured what officials described as a direct hit on a passenger terminal that set parts of the building on fire. Authorities reported one person killed and more than 60 wounded, and airport operations were temporarily suspended while emergency teams evacuated and treated the injured. The released footage is meant to show how the attack unfolded and explain the scale of damage to passengers and diplomatic missions at the airport.

"Criminal Iranian aggression," the defence ministry spokesman said again as officials released the surveillance clips that capture the moment small unmanned aerial vehicles struck the terminal. The video, distributed by Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, shows small objects impacting the passenger concourse and flames and smoke spreading across the roof and facade.

What the footage shows

The clips are short but direct, and officials said broadcasting them was intended to establish the mechanics of the strike. The imagery appears to show multiple small unmanned aerial vehicles approaching the terminal, then an explosion and fires at the point of impact. Airport staff and emergency services are visible in the footage evacuating people from the affected area and moving the wounded to makeshift treatment zones.

Kuwaiti authorities described significant structural damage to the passenger terminal. Local rescue teams worked to clear debris and to assess damage before operators could declare the facilities safe. Incoming flights were disrupted while airport operators assessed the structural integrity of the terminal and cleared wreckage that had spilled onto taxiways and apron areas.

Officials provided casualty figures along with the video: one fatality and more than 60 people injured. Among the wounded, authorities said, were airport workers and local emergency responders who were struck by flying debris or injured by blast effects. Parts of the passenger terminal were set on fire, and firefighting teams remained on scene to control hot spots after the initial blaze.

Mastheads

Kuwait's foreign ministry said diplomatic missions at the airport had been damaged. The defence ministry labeled the strike deliberate aggression by Iran, and the foreign ministry singled out harm to diplomatic facilities as part of the tally of the attack's consequences.

Rescue teams continued site assessments and repairs with the stated goal of restarting normal services as soon as it was safe to do so.

Airport operators temporarily halted operations at Kuwait International Airport after the impact on the terminal. The suspension created major disruption to passenger movement and flight schedules, with incoming flights held or diverted and outbound services delayed until damage assessments were complete. Authorities said they would reopen terminal areas only after engineers and safety teams confirmed structural soundness.

PBS NewsHour reported that the airport strike came amid an already fragile cease-fire between the United States and Iran. According to PBS, U.S. and Iranian forces had exchanged fire overnight, and Iran launched missiles at targets in the Gulf, including Kuwait and the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Those missile launches, PBS said, either failed or were shot down.

PBS NewsHour also reported Tehran described the launches as a response to a U.S. strike on an oil tanker's engine, which Iran said was intended to enforce a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports. The reporting places the airport strike within a broader uptick in tit-for-tat strikes and counterstrikes across the Gulf, a region where escalation can quickly cross borders and affect commercial traffic.

U.S. officials, PBS said, maintained that the cease-fire with Iran remained in effect even as incidents occurred. Kuwaiti authorities and international partners will likely use the released footage to establish the facts on the ground and to coordinate diplomatic and security responses.

For passengers and airport staff, the immediate task is recovery and repair. For diplomats and regional security planners, the footage sharpens a question that officials will now have to answer publicly: whether the attack on civilian infrastructure meets the threshold for further diplomatic or military responses, and what steps states will take to protect airports and other soft targets in the Gulf.

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Kuwaiti investigators are continuing damage assessments and will publish official findings; diplomats and regional security partners are expected to weigh any diplomatic or military responses.

This article was created with AI assistance.