Image by David McLeod. U.S. Marines roll into Kuwait International Airport in light armored vehicles and M-998 high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles after the retreat of Iraqi forces from Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. Kuwait International Airport, Kuwait, 27 February 1991. U.S. National Archives, Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files. Public domain.
Major news outlets have reported on the US and Iran exchanging attacks overnight and early morning on June 3, 2026. Headlines capture the fact that Iran simultaneously attacked both Kuwait and Bahrain, noting that at least one Indian national was killed, with numerous injuries reported.
Take a look at sampling of the headlines from major media outlets:
AP: Iran strikes Kuwait’s main airport and kills 1 as ceasefire is tested again
BBC: One killed and dozens injured in Iranian drone strikes on Kuwait airport
FOX: US ally Kuwait condemns ‘brutal and ongoing Iranian attacks’ after airport was hit
WaPo: Iranian attack leaves 1 dead, dozens injured in Kuwait
One could be forgiven for thinking that Iran attacked these countries unprovoked based on the headlines and top-level details. A little reading reveals that, in fact, the US and Iran exchanged attacks with each side pointing the finger at the other for instigating the escalation.
Let’s leave aside for the moment the fact that the US and Israel waged this war of choice and that they are indisputably the aggressors based on that antiquated notion called international law. Instead, let’s focus on some critical fact, including those being ignored in most of the reporting.
1. The US attacked Qeshm Island, one of two strategically vital Iranian islands in the Strait of Hormuz. Some analysts have claimed that Iranian missiles central to Tehran’s Hormuz strategy are in a large underground facility on the island. US claims that the strikes were in retaliation for Iranian strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain.
2. Iranian drones and missiles were launched at both Bahrain and Kuwait. According to US and Gulf sources, the projectiles were mostly ineffective, with a few hitting the international airport in Kuwait. Reports from the ground seem to paint a different picture.
3. Iran has claimed that their attacks targeted the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet stationed in Bahrain. US sources suggest that no projectiles managed to strike the targets.
The context that matters most, and which is being omitted from most of the reporting, is that Kuwait International Airport is the site of the US military’s critical logistics hub for the entire region. This is likely the target that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps was aiming for and which, if significantly damaged, could deal a serious blow to US warfighting capabilities in the near-term.
For years, the US military utilized the Abdullah al-Mubarak Air Base, located inside the vast Kuwait International Airport complex, as its logistics hub and deployment station. It’s one of the primary landing spots for US military and private military contractors headed into Iraq, Syria, and other countries in the region.
In 2019, however, the base was temporarily closed to be relocated as the new complex known as “Cargo City” was opened.
Cloys, Robert (2019). Col. Adrienne Williams and Chief Master Sgt. Charles Lane cut the ribbon during the Cargo City Ribbon Cutting Ceremony near Kuwait International Airport, May 19, 2019. U.S. Air Force photograph. Public domain
As the US Air Forces Central Command reported at the time:
The opening of Cargo City successfully closes the United States Air Force and Coalition Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base gateway after over 20 years of operations… [Cargo City is] an interim location until New Mubarak Military Base is built upon completion of the 3rd runway and corresponding military ramp.
Cargo City, although a temporary gateway, was designed to provide optimized capabilities, streamlining mission while continually sustaining one of the busiest military aerial ports in the Middle East for our joint and coalition partners, alongside our host nation counterparts. The aerial port will continue to serve as a major military logistics point, functioning as the largest aerial port of debarkation in the Middle East.
Interestingly, there is very little reporting on the progress being made on the new Mubarak Base. However, a 2024 article from Jane’s Defense Weekly indicates that progress is being made toward completion of the new base. As Jane’s noted, “The new Abdullah al-Mubarak site [is] next to Cargo City, which was opened in May 2019 as an interim location for the US Air Force’s presence at the Kuwaiti airbase. The new bases are located between the old airport and the new third runway.”
Given the fact that more than two years have passed since that story in Jane’s, it’s safe to assume that additional progress was made on construction and relocation, at least until the outbreak of the war this year. Given that assumption, it is likely that this was the specific target that the IRGC was aiming for.
Coupled with the targeting of the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, it seems that Iran has stepped up the boldness of its military responses, both in terms of scope and high-value targets. Moreover, the Iranians are not targeting US military hardware so much as they appear to be targeting logistics hubs. It’s likely that Iran’s calculation is simply that disruption of US logistics reduces the options available to Trump and his war planners and extends the timeline for any potential US military action, thereby driving up the economic and political costs of the war.
It certainly feels like these points should have been made by the NY Times and other major media outlets.
