Kuwaiti oil facility targeted as Iran celebrates Nowruz amidst looming conflict

On March 2, 2026, smoke billowed from a reported Iranian strike near the US Embassy in Kuwait City, with black smoke visible rising from the embassy, as seen by an AFP correspondent.

A fresh drone attack from Iran sparked a blaze at a Kuwait oil refinery on Friday, as firefighters battled to contain the fire, marking the second incident at the giant Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery this week.

Despite European leaders' calls to cease targeting Gulf energy infrastructure on Thursday, Kuwait reported a fire at its refinery, a day after a direct hit on Qatar's vital Ras Laffan facility, which has significant implications for the region's energy supplies.

Iranian authorities have vowed to retaliate after an Israeli strike on Wednesday damaged its South Pars gas field, a crucial source of domestic energy, drawing on the world's biggest known gas reserve.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the conflict could be nearing its end, stating "We are winning and Iran is being decimated" at a press conference on Thursday, and claiming Tehran no longer has the capacity to manufacture ballistic missiles.

Netanyahu also suggested that a "ground component" would be necessary to overthrow the Iranian government, saying "This war is ending a lot faster than people think," but did not elaborate on the specifics.

Iran's leaders, despite facing an Israeli assassination campaign and three weeks of bombardment, have pledged to end the conflict on their own terms, with Iran's Revolutionary Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini stating that the country's missile industry "deserves a perfect score".

Moments after Naini's message was shared by the Fars news agency, the Revolutionary Guards announced that he had been killed in an airstrike, in a significant blow to Iran's military leadership.

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 largely been spared attacks, in a significant escalation of the conflict.

Sixteen Iranian cargo vessels were sunk in ports on the Gulf "following the American–Zionist air attack", according to Iran's Tasnim news agency, in a major blow to the country's shipping industry.

In Tehran's markets, shoppers were out buying new clothes and gifts, although sidewalks were less crowded than usual, with many people having fled north, as AFP correspondents reported.

Huge banners bearing images of Nowruz have replaced portraits of the country's late leader Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on the first day of the war on February 28 by Israel, in a significant symbolic shift.

As the war heads towards its fourth week, Iran retains control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) usually flows, giving it significant leverage over the global energy market.

Energy analysts and consumers are scrambling to assess the cost of Iranian missiles hitting Qatar's huge Ras Laffan natural gas complex on Thursday, which caused "extensive damage" that could cost $20 billion a year in lost revenue and take five years to repair.

The attack could lead to high energy prices that outlast the conflict, increasing inflation and lowering economic growth, according to experts, with Robert Pape, a political science and military expert at the University of Chicago, warning that "Short disruptions create price volatility, sustained damage creates lasting economic shock".

Pape also warned about further escalation that could include US President Donald Trump and Netanyahu ordering a limited ground invasion to try to secure the Strait of Hormuz, or overthrow the government, in a move that could have significant global implications.

Netanyahu indicated that regime change might require "a ground component", without elaborating, saying "There are many possibilities for this ground component and I take the liberty of not sharing (those) with you".

Trump denied on Thursday that he was considering such a move, saying "If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you, but I’m not putting troops", in an effort to reassure the public.

Iranian state media reported several waves of missiles fired at Israel overnight and Friday morning, with blasts heard over Jerusalem, although 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.

The war, which has killed thousands and displaced millions, has quickly spread to Lebanon, where the Israeli military has carried out regular bombardments in response to rocket fire on Israel by Iran ally Hezbollah.

Lebanon's health ministry said the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as on the capital Beirut and its southern suburbs, has surpassed 1,000, in a devastating humanitarian crisis.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday, renewed a call for a truce between Israel and Hezbollah and the opening of negotiations, which France's president later said depended on Israel agreeing to join.

As concerns grow over the conflict's economic fallout, President Emmanuel Macron said France planned to talk with permanent members of the UN Security Council about establishing a framework to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, but only after the fighting had stopped.