Kuwait refinery hit as Iran marks New Year under shadow of war

An Israeli self-propelled howitzer artillery gun fires rounds towards southern Lebanon from a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the border on March 20, 2026. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Iran-backed Hezbollah militants launched rockets at Israel after the killing of the Islamic republic’s supreme leader. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) / 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 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.

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“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.

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