Iran-Israel war: Why are missiles flying into Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE

After the US and Israel launched a major attack on targets across Iran on Saturday, Tehran reportedly fired ballistic missiles to several American bases in the Middle East region, including Israel, Bahrain, UAE and Qatar among others. Bahrain is host to the US Navy’s fifth fleet while the US military’s Al Udeid air base is located in Qatar. A Reuters report stated that a loud explosion was heard in Dubai as well. US President Donald Trump, in an extraordinary appeal, urged the Iranian citizens to “take over your government” which suggested that Washington-led allies could be seeking to bring an end to the Islamic nation’s theocracy after decades of tension. The report added that Jordan also recorded ballistic missiles in its territory and the country’s military has said that they have downed two ballistic missiles targeting the nation. Kuwait’s military also dealt with missiles in its airspace, Reuters reported, quoting the state news agency. The Iranian attacks on US military bases in the region is leading to chaos across the Middle East as Qatar’s interior ministry in a statement said that attacks targeting the country didn’t result in any damage. An Israeli official has said that Iran’s Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Masoud Pezeshkian were both targeted in Saturday’s strikes but the result of the attack remains unclear. In a video posted on social media, President Trump said, “For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted Death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder, targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries.” Iran’s foreign ministry reacted to the development with a defiant statement and said that the Islamic nation will “not hesitate” in its response. In the statement on X, the Iranian ministry said, “The time has come to defend the homeland and confront the enemy’s military assault.”