West Asia war LIVE: Iran attack sparks two fires in Kuwait, firefighters injured

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun today left Beirut for Washington, where he is expected to meet Donald Trump, the Lebanese presidency said, after talks between Lebanon and Israel wrapped up in Italy.

It will be the first trip to Washington by a Lebanese head of State since Michel Sleiman was received by Barack Obama in 2009.

Aoun will hold discussions “with several American officials on the situation in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the ceasefire”, particularly in Lebanon’s south, as well as on “the withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese regions it occupies”, the presidency said.

Israel and Lebanon began U.S.-sponsored negotiations in April aimed at reaching a peace deal and permanently ending the Israel-Hezbollah war.

– AFP

Iran today struck infrastructure in the Gulf and threatened a “full-scale offensive” in retaliation for the seventh consecutive night of U.S. strikes on the Islamic Republic.

A month after they agreed a preliminary deal aimed at ending their war, fighting has intensified, with Tehran accusing Washington of hitting an airport, a railway station and bridges.

Iran retaliated today with strikes on an oil facility in Kuwait as well as a power and water plant, authorities in the Gulf state said, while in Bahrain the army said air defences repelled a wave of Iranian attacks.

– AFP

Kuwait’s state oil firm on Saturday (July 18, 2026) reported injuries and damage after an Iranian attack targeting an oil facility, according to the state news agency.

“A vital location in the oil industry was struck by repeated brutal Iranian attacks that resulted in a number of injuries and significant material losses,” news agency KUNA cited the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation as saying, adding that the site was evacuated and the injured received medical care.

– AFP

Kuwait accused Iran on Saturday (July 18, 2026) of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country, after reporting attacks on an oil facility and a power and water plant.

“The repeated targeting of these vital facilities reveals a systematic hostile approach targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure that endangers the lives and safety of civilians,” the Foreign Ministry said.

– AFP

Bahrain activated its air sirens for a second time on Saturday (July 18), warning residents to shelter after it detected possible incoming drones or missiles.

The Gulf states have come under frequent fire from Iran over the past week as tensions continue to ramp up between the U.S. and Iran. – AP

Kuwait on Saturday (July 18) said Iran struck another of its power and water plants, leading to the deactivation of several power generation units, a day after a similar attack.

“Another electricity and water distillation plant was targeted by a hostile attack that led to a fire erupting in one of the plant’s components,” which resulted in the deactivation of some power generation units, the Ministry of Electricity and water said in a statement. – AFP

Tehran threatened to resume “full-scale offensive operations” if U.S. strikes continue over the coming days, Major General Mohsen Rezaei said, according to state-controlled news agency IRIB.

“Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses… and no political border will be safe,” he said.- AFP

Iranian state-controlled IRNA news agency said on Saturday (July 18) that U.S. strikes had killed three and wounded eight people in Hormozgan, a province in the country’s south. Five explosions were heard in the central Iranian city of Yazd shortly after U.S. strikes were announced, according to the IRNA state news agency.

Mehr, another state-controlled agency, reported explosions “in several provinces in the south” of the country. – AFP

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards ‌said that they targeted a site ⁠where U.S. combat aircraft ‌were gathered ‌at Sheikh ‌Isa ⁠Air Base ⁠and an intelligence data centre ‌in Bahrain known as Batelco, Iran’s state ‌media reported.

The guards also ⁠targeted a U.S. naval ‌fuel-support pier at Al Ahmadi Port and ‌a U.S. signals and communications centre ⁠in Kuwait, state ⁠media reported- Reuters

The Iranian army said on Saturday (July 18) that it had targeted an air base in Bahrain used by the United States in response to American strikes, according to Iran’s state broadcaster.

Attack drones targeted “aircraft shelters and parking areas, fuel storage tanks of the U.S. military at Sheikh Isa Air Base, as well as several connecting bridges in Bahrain,” the army said, adding that the base in southern Bahrain is “one of the most important operational and logistical centres” for the U.S. military in the region.- AFP