Iran carried out a direct attack on a US military base in Kuwait, in an act of revenge that moves the escalation between Tehran and Washington from threat to reality. According to initial reports, five people were injured, and two American drones worth around 30 million dollars each were destroyed.

The attack comes as a direct response to earlier US actions against Iranian targets. The exchange of strikes between the two countries has entered a phase where each side has to "strike back" so as not to lose face - a classic spiral of escalation in which revenge invites revenge.

The destruction of two drones worth 30 million dollars each is not just a military loss but a symbolic one. It shows that Iran has the capacity to hit expensive American equipment and inflict material damage - a message aimed as much at Washington as at domestic and regional audiences.

The most dangerous part of the whole situation is the normalization of direct conflict. What until recently was "through proxies" - militias, proxies, quiet operations - is now an open exchange of strikes between two states. Each new round moves the line of what's considered acceptable, while at the same time raising the likelihood of a wider conflict.

For the region, which is already burning from Gaza to Yemen, this is yet another flashpoint that could push the Middle East into open war with unpredictable consequences. And when great powers measure strength across other people's territories, the price is paid above all by the ordinary people who live there.