Iran’s Guards deny deadly attack on Kuwait airport, blame American Patriot System error
“Our investigation and review of the Kuwait passenger terminal attack shows that the Revolutionary Guard Air Force did not fire any shots at this target,” IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said, according to the IRGC’s official Telegram channel.
He said that “the destruction of the Kuwait airport passenger terminal was caused by an error in the American Patriot systems that landed in the terminal after failing to intercept Iranian missiles.”
The Guards had previously said that they were targeting a different location for the US, “Ali Al Salem Air Base, which hosts helicopters in Kuwait”.
An attack on Kuwait airport on Wednesday temporarily halted operations, but air traffic resumed later in the day with the resumption of all Kuwait Airways flights.
The Gulf nation’s defense ministry said 30 ballistic missiles and drones were launched as part of “heinous Iranian aggression”, causing “serious material damage to the building”.
In a statement, India’s foreign ministry confirmed that one of its citizens was killed at the airport and condemned the attack. “We once again call on all parties to stop such attacks against civilian targets,” he said.
An airport source told AFP that the deceased was a traveller.
Kuwaiti health ministry spokesman Abdullah al-Sanad said 63 people were treated for injuries “including head injuries, brain hemorrhages, amputations and injuries from explosions.”
Kuwait’s international airport was targeted several times during the war and only fully resumed operations on 1 June.
