Iran’s strikes on oil and gas infrastructure across the Gulf showed no signs of abating on Friday, as fresh drone attacks hit Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, extending a widening campaign against regional energy assets.
Iran expanded its retaliatory campaign beyond military targets, striking critical oil and gas infrastructure across the Gulf on Thursday after Israeli strikes on Tehran’s South Pars gas field.
Here are the key energy assets targeted:
1. Kuwait — Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery
Iranian drones struck Kuwait’s largest refinery in multiple waves, sparking fires at the Mina Al-Ahmadi complex. The facility, which processes around 730,000 barrels per day, had already been hit in an earlier strike.
2. Kuwait — Mina Abdullah refinery
Operational units at Mina Abdullah were also hit in coordinated drone strikes, triggering fires before authorities brought the situation under control and resumed operations.
3. Saudi Arabia — Ras Tanura refinery
Drone strikes targeted Saudi Aramco’s key Ras Tanura facility, the kingdom’s largest oil export hub. While damage was limited, operations were halted.
4. Saudi Arabia — SAMREF refinery, Yanbu
The Red Sea refinery at Yanbu was struck as Riyadh attempted to reroute oil exports westward to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
5. Saudi Arabia — Shaybah oil field
Repeated drone attacks were reported at the Shaybah field near the UAE border, though no major damage has been confirmed.
6. Bahrain — Bapco refinery
Iran-linked strikes damaged Bahrain’s main refinery, prompting the operator to declare force majeure and raising concerns over regional refining capacity.
7. UAE — Ruwais refinery and Fujairah terminal
Key UAE export infrastructure, including the Ruwais refining complex and Fujairah port — one of the world’s largest bunkering hubs — were targeted in drone attacks, contributing to a sharp drop in output.
8. UAE — Habshan and Shah gas facilities
Abu Dhabi halted operations at major gas processing sites, including Habshan and the Shah sour gas field.
9. Qatar — Ras Laffan LNG facility
Iranian missile strikes caused extensive damage to Ras Laffan, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas export hub, with disruptions expected to have long-term implications for global gas markets.
10. Iraq — Majnoon oil field
Two drones targeted the Majnoon field in southern Iraq, one of the country’s largest oil-producing assets.
11. Iraq (Kurdistan) — Erbil energy facilities
A drone strike triggered a fire at a processing plant in Erbil, forcing a temporary shutdown.
12. Oman — Duqm and Salalah ports
Fuel storage and tanker infrastructure at the ports of Duqm and Salalah were hit, expanding the conflict’s reach to key maritime energy routes.
13. Israel — Haifa refinery
Iran also struck Israel’s Haifa refinery, though authorities said the attack caused no significant damage.
The IRGC said it also targeted refineries in Israel's Ashdod, in the country's south, "along with a range of security targets and military support centres of the Zionist regime", which it said, "were hit by pinpoint missiles".
There was no immediate word on whether the Ashdod refinery was hit.
In the third week of the Iran war, Tehran’s pattern of strikes marked a shift towards economic warfare, with targeting energy infrastructure to raise global costs and pressure its adversaries.
In a statement, the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran's enemies need to have their "security" taken away.
The scale and coordination of the attacks have already driven sharp volatility in oil and gas markets and heightened fears over the security of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of global oil supply passes.
US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that American forces will "massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field" if it continues targeting Qatar's energy facilities. Trump also claimed that the US had no role in Israel's initial strikes on the South Pars gas field.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also confirmed Trump's claim, stating that Israel acted alone during the attack on Iran's largest oil refinery. Obliging to Trump's request, Netanyahu declared that Israel would hold off against attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure.