Iran blames US Patriot malfunction for Kuwait airport damage

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) denied on Wednesday that it had struck Kuwait International Airport, instead attributing damage to a passenger terminal to a malfunctioning US‑made Patriot missile system. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi told state broadcaster IRIB that investigations showed the force’s Aerospace Division had not fired at the airport terminal.

Patriot malfunction claim

“Our investigations regarding the impact on Kuwait’s passenger terminal show that the IRGC Aerospace Force did not fire at this target,” Mohebbi said. He claimed the damage was caused by a Patriot missile that fell on the terminal after failing to intercept Iranian missiles. “The destruction of the passenger terminal at Kuwait Airport was caused by an American Patriot system error after it failed to intercept Iranian missiles,” he added. The IRGC also said it attacked a US base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain in retaliation for a US overnight strike on its communications tower on Qeshm Island.

CENTCOM denial

US Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected the Iranian claim on X, stating: “Totally false.” CENTCOM insisted that Iran struck the civilian airport “with drones in a deliberate, calculated, and unjustified attack.”