A U.S. embassy issued a security alert on Wednesday after American interests in Kuwait received a threat from a pro-Iranian group, coming amid heightened tensions in the Middle East amid the Israel–Hamas conflict.
It came after a group, Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq, wrote on social media 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 retaliation for the martyrs of beloved Palestine,” according to multiple reports. Some officials believe the group is backed by Iran and is said to be linked to the Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah terrorist group.
“We affirm that our patience has limits,” the statement from the group said. The Epoch Times could not immediately verify the authenticity of the claim, and the U.S. Embassy’s statement did not specifically mention the group.
Days before the U.S. Embassy’s notice, the U.S. State Department sent out a “worldwide caution” security alert to Americans traveling abroad.
The State Department then advised U.S. citizens to stay cautious in locations frequented by tourists, enroll in the agency’s travel program, and follow the agency on social media to receive updates. The last time such an alert was sent out was when the United States carried out a drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former leader of al-Qaeda, at a Taliban guest house in Kabul, Afghanistan, in July 2022.
It also came as the United States recently raised the travel alert for parts of Israel and nearby Lebanon to Level 4, or its highest level. The U.S. embassy in Beirut also allowed non-emergency personnel and family members to depart.
U.S. warnings have long applied for citizens traveling to Iran, where U.S. nationals are at risk for “arbitrary arrest and detention.” The United States also includes Iraq on its Level 4 list, warning that there’s a high risk of kidnapping, terrorism, and armed conflict.
Earlier this week, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, ordered the emergency departure of certain, nonessential personnel from Iraq amid the elevated regional tensions. Protests have erupted across Iraq in recent days after Israel carried out strikes against Hamas, a State Department-designated terrorist group, after it launched a series of attacks that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians earlier in October.
At the same time, U.S. coalition forces confirmed that live-fire drills will start this week on several bases in Iraq and Syria, coming after American soldiers came under attack around 20 times in recent days.
Officials told media outlets that drills will be conducted “to validate weapons systems and maintain crew proficiency and readiness” near the al-Hasakah region in Syria and the Khalidiyah region in Iraq.
Officials in Israel said its ground forces had made a big push into Gaza overnight to attack Hamas targets as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was still preparing for a ground invasion that could be one of several.
The United States and other countries are urging Israel to delay a full invasion; Gaza is reeling from almost three weeks of Israeli bombing triggered by a mass killing spree in southern Israel by Iranian-backed Hamas, which runs the besieged enclave.
Other Iranian-backed groups have since attacked Israel and U.S. forces elsewhere in the region as Western leaders fear that a ground invasion with a high death toll among Palestinian civilians, who have already been killed in large numbers by Israeli air strikes, could spark a wider war.
President Joe Biden held a call with Netanyahu, discussing “ongoing efforts to locate and secure the release” of Americans believed held hostage by militants in Gaza, the White House said overnight.
Israel said there were 224 hostages. Hamas has threatened to kill some of those it holds, who include many foreign passport holders, but has freed four since Friday. Gaza began receiving a small amount of aid the following day.
