A shadowy armed group known as the Righteous Promise Brigades (RPB) said on October 25 that it will attack United States bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in response to the ongoing Israeli war on the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
“After the Zionist entity and its supporters persisted in exterminating our people in steadfast Palestine, and the killing, displacement and destruction we are witnessing today against the patient, struggling Palestinian people, we affirm that our patience has limits,” the group said in a statement.
It added: “We give good news to the honorable and zealous members of our nation that we consider the American bases in Kuwait and the Emirates as legitimate targets for us in response to the crimes of the Zionist entity and America and in revenge for the martyrs of our beloved Palestine.”
The RPB, which presents itself as an Arabian Peninsula resistance force, is reportedly based in Iraq and backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In 2021, the group attacked the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with a number of suicide drones. The attack targeted several positions including the Al Yamamah Palace, the official residence and office of the King of Saudi Arabia and the seat of the royal court.
Later in 2022, the group said that it had attacked “vital facilities” in the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi, with four suicide drones.
U.S. forces in Kuwait are based primarily at Camp Arifjan and Ali al-Salem Air Base. In the UAE, they are deployed at Al Dhafra Air Base, just outside of Abu Dhabi. The current number of troops currently deployed in the two Gulf countries is unknown, but judging by numbers from two to three years ago there could be upwards of 18,500.
The U.S. unconditional political and military support for Israel after the October 7 Hamas-led surprise attack and the sequential heavy bombing campaign against Gaza led to a serious backlash against Washington in the Middle East.
According to the Pentagon, ten attacks targeted U.S. bases in Iraq and three others targeted bases in Syria over the base week. The U.S. Central Command said that 24 troops sustained “minor injuries” in some of the recent attacks. Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq claimed responsibility.
The U.S. is reportedly preparing for more escalation against its forces in the Middle East by deploying additional air defense systems.