The Middle East is on the edge again. The US Central Command confirmed it carried out fresh airstrikes on Iranian targets - radar systems and command centres for drone operations in Goruk and on the island of Qeshm, in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon described the attack as "self-defence" - a word that in war usually means the other side will call it aggression.

The response didn't take long. Iran's Revolutionary Guard hit back with ballistic missiles against the Ali Al-Salem air base in Kuwait, claiming the American strikes had been launched from there. The Guard warned that any further aggression would get a "completely different" response - a phrasing we hear before every next escalation.

And then an unexpected angry voice enters the story - Kuwait. The foreign ministry condemned the Iranian attack as "contemptible" and a "dangerous escalation," claiming it has "every right to do whatever it takes to protect its territory." Sirens wailed over the country as air defences intercepted missiles and drones. The small Gulf state suddenly found itself in the line of fire in a war that isn't its own.

This is the third major breach of the ceasefire since the April agreement, and the wider war that began on February 28th has already taken thousands of lives, mainly in Iran and Lebanon. Every new "ceasefire" in this region lasts exactly until the next strike - and then everyone acts surprised, as if it wasn't expected.

For the Balkans, which know all too well what it means when the big powers fight wars on someone else's territory, the Kuwait case is instructive. When superpowers settle their scores, the bases, the strait and the skies over small countries become a battlefield - and nobody asks them whether they want to take part. Who pays the price when two strong powers trade fire over your head?