Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday denied firing any missile or drone at a passenger terminal at Kuwait International Airport, saying the damage to the terminal was caused by a malfunctioning US Patriot missile system, according to Sepah News.

Kuwaiti authorities had reported that one person was killed and dozens of others were injured after ballistic missiles and drones struck civilian and vital facilities across the country, including the airport, in attacks they attributed to Iran.

The US military said Iranian drones had targeted the airport deliberately.

The IRGC said it had only launched missile and drone attacks on US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain – not the airport – while the US military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz. The Revolutionary Guards also accused US forces of provoking a response by targeting a tanker and a communications tower on the country's Qeshm Island.

The attacks are the latest to test a shaky ceasefire, sending oil prices up nearly 2 percent, as the strait remains largely closed more than three months after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday that "no tangible progress" has been made in negotiations to end the Middle East war amid the flare-up in hostilities.

In contrast, US President Donald Trump struck an optimistic note, telling reporters at the White House that the Iran talks could yield a result "over the weekend."

"I hear the negotiation itself is going very well actually," Trump said of a potential deal. "It could happen...over the weekend."

Trump also said he wants to separate talks on the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah and those on the war between the United States and Iran, although Tehran insists the two are linked.

"I'd like to separate it, I'd like to have a separate thing, because it is, it is separate," he said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles were at the centre of discussions with Tehran and voiced hope that the latest round of talks in Washington between Israel and Lebanon will produce a security roadmap.

Washington insists Tehran must turn over its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, agree to curb its nuclear activities and re-open the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas, for any peace agreement to take hold.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said lines of communication with the United States were still open but warned that any Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital Beirut as part of its campaign against Hezbollah would trigger a "full-scale resumption" of the conflict.

"Communications with the Americans have not been cut off, and messages have been exchanged regarding the need to stop aggression against Beirut, but no tangible progress has been made in the negotiation process," the Tasnim news agency quoted Araghchi as telling Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV.

"Any attack on Beirut will have grave consequences and will lead to a full-scale resumption of the war," he said. "Our armed forces are ready to strike Israel if it attacks Beirut."

Meanwhile, Kuwait's military has condemned the drone strike on the airport as an act of "criminal Iranian aggression." India's foreign ministry said the one fatality was an Indian national.

Kuwait suspended air traffic and diverted arriving planes to other destinations following the drone attack on the airport, but later restarted Kuwait Airways flights.

The international airport has been targeted several times during the war, and had only fully resumed operations on Monday.

Trump played down the renewed hostilities saying "in that part of the world ceasefire is when you're shooting in a more moderate manner."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran meanwhile of "playing with fire."

"Iran surely knows what the (US) president has said, that if necessary, there'll be a full-scale return to military action," Netanyahu said in an interview with US channel CNBC. (Agencies)



Edited by Cecil Wong