Two firefighters killed in Kuwait as Iranian retaliation strikes continue against Gulf states

Two firefighters were killed while performing safeguarding duties in Kuwait, the Kuwait Fire Force said in a statement on Sunday, as Iranian retaliation strikes continue among the Gulf states.

The announcement, which named the victims as Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Emad al-Sharrah and Major Fahd Abdulaziz al-Mujammad, didn't detail the circumstances of their deaths.

Kuwait was at the center of the US operation in Iran after an Iranian missile killed six US servicemembers, the highest casualty event since the beginning of the war.

In a separate event, three people were injured, and damage was reported in a university and a water desalination plant following an Iranian drone attack, the Bahrain Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

According to the ministry, the material damage was reported mainly in Muharraq, the insular nation's former capital before the founding of Manama.

The ministry said that the damages were a product of "blatant Iranian aggression," while it also said that Iran was "indiscriminately targeting civilians."

In a previous statement on Saturday, the ministry warned about taking pictures and videos of the Iranian attacks, saying, "Anyone who betrays his country and cooperates in the aggression against Bahrain by photographing vital sites and facilities, and publishing them on social media to be used in Iranian aggression is an accomplice in this aggression and will be punished according to the law."

Following the successful interception of a suspected Iranian drone on Saturday, United Arab Emirates authorities confirmed that falling debris crashed into a vehicle in Dubai, resulting in the death of a Pakistani driver, the Dubai Media Office announced.

The interception also caused minor damage to the facade of a tower in Dubai Marina, located in the Al Barsha area of the city, the office noted.

This followed an earlier Saturday incident, where a missile was reported in the area, while fire and smoke were also seen billowing from Dubai’s 23 Marina, according to The Telegraph.

The Telegraph reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) subsequently claimed it was targeting an area where US troops were located.  

In Saudi Arabia, there were nine reported drone interceptions over the weekend, with one of them reaching the east of Riyadh, the Saudi capital, according to the Saudi defense ministry.

The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia have all come under heavy drone and missile fire from Iran over the past week.

Amid the reported strikes, Iranian authorities showed division over how to handle the retaliation against the Israeli-American operation.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said over the weekend that Iran's temporary leadership council had approved suspending attacks on nearby countries, unless an attack on Iran came from those nations.

In a later statement on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump claimed that the comments were a way of "surrendering to its neighbours," Pezeshkian said that his remarks were "misinterpreted by the enemy that seeks to sow division with neighbors," Reuters reported, citing the Iranian state TV.

"It has repeatedly been said we are brothers and must have good relations with neighbors. However, we are forced to retaliate to attacks, but this does not mean we have a dispute with a (neighboring) country or want to upset their people," Pezeshkian said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on Saturday that he remained in constant contact with his Saudi counterpart and other Saudi officials, adding that Riyadh had assured Tehran it was fully committed to not allowing its territory, waters, or airspace to be used for attacks against Iran.

Lara Sukster Mosheyof, Miriam Sela-Eitan, and Reuters contributed to this report.