US strikes Iran: Bahrain urges caution, Kuwait sets up shelters as Middle East conflict escalates

Bahrain and Kuwait, where the US has bases, prepared on Sunday for the chance that the Iran war could spill over onto its soil, with Bahrain calling on drivers to stay away from main streets and Kuwait setting up shelters in a complex of ministries following US attacks on Iran's nuclear sites. US troops hit Iran's three key nuclear facilities late on Saturday night, and President Donald Trump warned Iran it would be hit harder if it doesn't agree to peace.

Iran had issued threats earlier that in case it was attacked by the United States, it might attack American interests in the region, including US bases. Bahrain is the site of the US Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters and there are multiple US bases in Kuwait. "In light of recent developments in the regional security situation, we urge citizens and residents to use main roads only when necessary, to maintain public safety and to allow the relevant authorities to use the roads efficiently," Bahrain's interior ministry said in a post on X.

Bahrain has instructed 70% of its government workers to stay at home through an indefinite period, citing rising tensions, the Civil Service Bureau said. Meanwhile, Kuwait set up shelters in the country's ministries complex, a sprawling compound of structures that accommodates various government departments, including the justice and finance ministries, the finance ministry said. Bahraini officials last week reported that they had launched a national plan and a national civil emergency centre to prepare in the event of emergencies and went ahead to conduct tests for warning sirens nationwide.

Regional media further reported the nation had established 33 shelters.

US enters Iran-Israel war

In a major escalation of tensions in West Asia, the US bombed three nuclear sites - Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan - in Iran and warned the Islamic Republic of more "precision strikes" if it did not end its conflict with Israel. This came days after the US president said that he would decide within ‘two weeks’ if he needs to bomb Iran. The US strike came on the ninth day of Operation Rising Lion, under which Israel hit several nuclear facilities inside Iran, killing top military officials and nuclear scientists. The Israel Defence Forces said that US strikes “were in coordination with the IDF” and it was a “crucial step stopping the Iranian regime's aggression.”

As America entered the war, Donald Trump said that ‘there will either be peace or tragedy.’ "This cannot continue. There will either be peace or tragedy for Iran, far greater than what we have witnessed over the last eight days," Trump told a press briefing at the Oval Office. He also conveyed the goal of the US' strikes, saying, "Our Objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”