Kuwait refinery hit as Iran marks Nowruz under shadow of war

2026-03-20 - 12:10

Iranian authorities vowed to retaliate after an Israeli strike on Wednesday damaged its South Pars gas field. (AFP pic) DUBAI: Firefighters battled another blaze at a Kuwait oil refinery on Friday after a fresh drone attack from Iran where millions were marking the country’s New Year Nowruz with muted celebrations under the shadow of war. Despite calls for an end to targeting Gulf energy infrastructure by European leaders on Thursday, Kuwait reported a fire for the second time this week at its giant Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, a day after a direct hit on Qatar’s vital Ras Laffan facility. Iranian authorities vowed to retaliate after an Israeli strike on Wednesday damaged its South Pars gas field, which draws on the world’s biggest known gas reserve and is vital for domestic supplies. The escalating damage to Gulf energy infrastructure has led to fears of lasting damage to oil and gas supplies, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated an end to the fighting could be close. “We are winning and Iran is being decimated,” the Israeli premier said at a press conference on Thursday, claiming Tehran no longer had the capacity to manufacture ballistic missiles. “This war is ending a lot faster than people think,” he added in comments that also suggested a “ground component” would be needed to overthrow the government. Iran’s leaders, despite an Israeli assassination campaign and three weeks of bombardment, have vowed to end the conflict on their own terms. “Our missile industry deserves a perfect score... and there is no concern in this regard, because even under wartime conditions we continue missile production,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency. Moments after his message was shared by the agency, the Revolutionary Guards said he had been killed in an airstrike. Tehran suffered a new wave of Israeli bombardment on Friday, dashing hopes of a truce as the country celebrated the new year spring festival Nowruz and Muslims in the Gulf and elsewhere marked the end of Ramadan. The Israeli army also targeted a northern region around the Caspian Sea, a popular holiday destination that has so far been largely spared attacks. Sixteen Iranian cargo vessels were sunk in ports on the Gulf “following the American–Zionist air attack”, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported. “We assume and hope that there will be no attacks on the first day of the new year,” Hoda, a resident in Saveh south of Tehran, had told AFP on Thursday. In Tehran’s markets, shoppers were out in force buying new clothes and gifts, although sidewalks were less packed than usual for this time of year, with many people having fled north, AFP correspondents said. Huge banners bearing images of Nowruz, which begins officially in the evening, have replaced portraits of the country’s late leader Ali Khamenei who was assassinated on the first day of the war on Feb 28 by Israel. As the war heads towards its fourth week, Iran retains a stranglehold over the strategic Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of global oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) usually flows. Iranian state media reported several waves of missiles fired at Israel overnight and Friday morning, with blasts heard over Jerusalem. There were no reports of casualties. The United Arab Emirates also reported missile attacks, while Saudi Arabia intercepted more than a dozen drones early Friday as Gulf nations began the observation of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.