Iran Hits Kuwait's Largest Oil Refinery for Second Straight Day as Gulf Energy Crisis Deepens
Drone strikes on the Mina Al-Ahmadi facility sparked new fires on Friday as Brent crude traded near $107 a barrel — up 47 percent since the war began — and Iran threatened to target tourist destinations worldwide.
Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery — one of the largest in the Middle East — came under Iranian drone attack for the second consecutive day Friday morning, with fires spreading across multiple units at the facility, Kuwait's state energy company reported. The attacks underscore a dramatic widening of Iran's retaliation strategy, which has swept from its own territorial waters to energy infrastructure across six Gulf nations over the past week.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said in a statement that the refinery "was subjected to a number of hostile attacks by drones early this morning, resulting in a fire in some of its units." No casualties were reported in the latest strikes. Firefighters were battling to bring the blazes under control as Kuwaitis marked Eid al-Fitr, the holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan. The refinery processes approximately 730,000 barrels of oil per day, making it one of the most important energy facilities in the Persian Gulf region.
The assault was the latest in Iran's sweeping campaign targeting Gulf Arab state energy infrastructure, launched in direct retaliation for Israel's strike on Iran's South Pars offshore natural gas field on Wednesday. Within days of that strike, refineries in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates had all been hit. Qatar's Ras Laffan, the world's largest liquefied natural gas terminal, sustained severe damage in earlier attacks, temporarily wiping out an estimated 17 percent of global LNG supply and costing an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue. Iran's military spokesman issued a stark warning Friday, saying that "parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations" worldwide would not remain safe for adversaries — an extraordinary signal that Tehran may seek to expand the conflict beyond military and energy targets.
International oil markets showed the strain. Brent crude oil was trading near $107 a barrel Friday morning, up more than 47 percent since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28. The price had briefly surged above $119 a barrel Thursday before pulling back after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to halt further strikes on Iranian energy sites at President Trump's request. "President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks, and we're holding off," Netanyahu said. Still, Iran appeared unwilling to reciprocate. Trump administration officials said Friday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is considering temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea — an estimated 140 million barrels' worth — in an effort to help stabilize global energy prices over the next two weeks.
The United States is accelerating its military deployment to the region. The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, comprising approximately 2,200 Marines aboard the USS Boxer and two amphibious assault ships, has departed San Diego bound for the Middle East. The deployment comes as the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supply normally transits — remains effectively closed by Iranian action for the third consecutive week, representing what energy analysts are calling the largest supply disruption in the modern history of global oil markets. Seven allied nations have announced support for reopening the strait to commercial shipping, but no consensus has emerged on the specific military steps required.
Israel launched fresh strikes over and around Tehran early Friday as Iranians celebrated Nowruz, the Persian New Year, with residents in the capital reporting explosions across the city. Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who assumed power after his father Ali Khamenei was killed in the first wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28, vowed that "security must be stripped from internal and external enemies." United Nations atomic energy chief Rafael Mariano Grossi cautioned that while military action may degrade Iran's nuclear capabilities, nuclear material and enrichment capacity "will still be there" after the conflict ends. More than 2,000 people have been killed across the region since the war began, including over 1,200 in Iran and at least 850 in Lebanon.
Originally reported by NPR.