Iran Attacks Oil Facilities, Gulf Conflict Escalates | World Brief
Iranian drone strikes ignited fires at Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery on Friday, marking the second consecutive day of attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf region, according to the state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. The escalating conflict, coinciding with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr and the Persian New Year, Nowruz, has raised fears of a wider regional war as the U.S. Military considers further deployments and Israel and Iran continue to exchange strikes.
Energy operations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates were also targeted Friday, and Saudi Arabia confirmed that its Samref refinery had been hit. These attacks followed Tehran’s vow on Wednesday to retaliate for Israel’s earlier strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, which produces as much as 75 percent of the country’s natural gas. Iran’s response included extensive damage to Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility, reducing exports by approximately 17 percent and resulting in an estimated $20 billion in lost annual revenue, according to QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi. Repairing the damage is expected to take up to five years.
Despite a pledge from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump—to refrain from further strikes on South Pars, Trump warned on his Truth Social platform that the United States would “massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field” if Iran continues to attack Qatar, threatening a level of force “that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.”
The U.S. Military is reportedly increasing its presence in the region. Unnamed U.S. Military officials told the New York Times Friday that three warships carrying 2,500 additional Marines are en route to the Middle East, intended to replace troops previously deployed from Japan. While Trump has publicly stated he has no intention of deploying U.S. Ground troops, some of these Marine units are equipped for small-scale ground incursions and evacuation missions.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to criticize European allies for not deploying warships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. “Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “[T]hey complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices. So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!”
Brent crude oil prices remained above $100 a barrel on Friday, driving up costs for gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel globally.
The United Kingdom announced Friday it will now allow the U.S. Military to utilize its bases to launch attacks on Iranian sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz, expanding its previous policy of allowing use of bases only for defensive actions. In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer “is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran. Iran will exercise its right to self-defense.”
Separately, two Iranian nationals appeared in a London court Thursday facing charges of spying on Jewish and Israeli institutions in England on behalf of Tehran’s intelligence service over a five-week period last summer. Targets reportedly included the United Kingdom’s oldest functioning synagogue, Bevis Marks; the Israeli Embassy and Consulate in London; a Jewish community center; and a rabbinical training school. Britain’s security services have previously warned of the threat posed by the Iranian regime, with the head of MI5 stating last year that the agency and British police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots to kidnap or kill British nationals or individuals in the United Kingdom since January 2022.
Bahrain hosts the United Kingdom Naval Support Facility, which supports Operation Kipion, the Royal Navy’s longstanding maritime security mission in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, though that operation has effectively been suspended with the withdrawal of Royal Navy vessels from the Gulf.