War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Drone attacks have hit Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery, causing several fires but no casualties, state media said, citing the national oil company, according to AFP.

“The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery… was subjected early today to several hostile drone attacks, causing fires in some of its units,” the official Kuwait News Agency said, adding that “several refinery units were shut down”.

The US is preparing to deploy about 4,000 Marines and sailors aboard three amphibious craft to help reinforce its troops fighting against Iran, Newsmax reports, citing four unnamed officials.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are deploying ahead of schedule from the West Coast.

The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group is “equipped with F-35 fighter jets, missiles, and amphibious vehicles capable of launching from the ships to carry out a land assault”, Newsmax noted.

“They are expected to sail through the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East region after the Navy was ordered to heighten its posture with additional firepower,” the report said.

The Saudi defence ministry has announced the successful downing of nine more drones over the country’s Eastern Province, the latest in a night of interceptions involving more than two dozen drones, Al Jazeera reports.

Dubai’s official media office has announced successful “air interception operations” over the city, “with no injuries reported”.

The office provided no further details on the nature of the defensive operations.

The Kuwaiti army says “hostile missile and drone attacks” are being confronted, and members of the public have been asked to follow official safety instructions, according to Al Jazeera.

The sounds of explosions being heard are the result of Kuwait’s air defence systems “intercepting the hostile attack”, the military said.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence has announced that it has intercepted and destroyed another drone over al-Jawf province in the north of the country, amid a continuing stream of drone attacks over several hours, Al Jazeera reports.

Hezbollah says in separate statements on its Telegram channel that it fired missiles at a group of Israeli soldiers and vehicles in al-Aadaissah, southern Lebanon, and that it launched another missile attack at soldiers in the border town of Mays al-Jabal, Al Jazeera reports.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior says a fire at a company warehouse broke out due to falling shrapnel resulting from “Iranian aggression”, Al Jazeera reports.

Civil defence workers have the fire under control “without any injuries”, the ministry said.

The interior ministry did not say whether the attack involved Iranian drones or missiles.

The Iraqi armed group Saraya Awliya al-Dam has stated in a post on its Telegram channel that it carried out three attacks against US bases across the country over the past 24 hours, Al Jazeera reports.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence has announced that it has intercepted and downed five more drones over the Eastern Province, which is considered the economic hub of the country and location of key oilfields, Al Jazeera reports.

Oil officials in Saudi Arabia are projecting that oil prices could soar past $180 a barrel if disruptions due to the Iran war persist until late April, the Wall Street Journal reports according to Reuters.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

The European Commission will propose that EU countries cut taxes on electricity and subsidise prices as a quick way to soften the energy price shock caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran, Commission head Ursula von der Leyen has told a news conference according to Reuters.

“In some cases, electricity is taxed much more than gas, up to 15 times more. And this cannot be so. We will propose to lower tax rates on electricity and to make sure that electricity is taxed less than fossil fuels,” she said.

“Member states can already make use of state aid measures to compensate for the cost increases of the energy source, and we and we will further flexibilise state aid,” she said.

Emirati and Kuwaiti air defences are responding to missile attacks, Kuwait’s army and the UAE’s interior ministry have said in separate statements according to AFP.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Bahrain’s interior ministry said air raid sirens were activated, and Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted a drone in the country’s east.

UAE authorities have arrested at least five members of a “terrorist network” linked to Iran and Hezbollah, state media says according to AFP.

The alleged network had “sought to infiltrate the national economy and carry out external schemes threatening the country’s financial stability” as part of “a pre-established strategic plan in coordination with external parties linked to Hezbollah and Iran”, the official WAM news agency said, citing the UAE State Security Apparatus. The report included mug shots of five detained suspects.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said a proposed framework to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is “still on the table” as he hosted French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, AFP reports.

Meeting Barrot, Aoun stressed “the necessity of a ceasefire, and to provide the necessary guarantees for its success by the parties concerned”, according to a presidency statement.

The president told Barrot that “the negotiating initiative… is still on the table, but the continued military escalation is hindering its launch”, the statement said.

“What is important is to stop the escalation” between Hezbollah and Israel, Aoun added.

The Israeli military says it has launched a wave of strikes on Tehran following Iranian missile fire at Israel overnight, AFP reports.

Iran has launched multiple rounds of missiles towards Israel, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the Islamic republic has been “decimated” by war, AFP reports.

Israel’s military said it had identified three rounds of missile fire in the hour and a half preceding midnight (3am PKT), and another a few hours later.

AFP reporters heard several loud blasts over Jerusalem as air raid sirens rang out across the city during one of the earlier attacks. The Magen David Adom emergency services reported no casualties, but police said there was damage in several locations.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said its latest wave of attacks has targeted central and southern Israel, including Tel Aviv, as well as US bases across the region, reports Al Jazeera, citing the Fars news agency.

Hezbollah has claimed it attacked the Israeli town of Margaliot with a missile salvo, reports Al Jazeera.

It also said it attacked a group of Israeli soldiers in the Lebanese town of Maroun al Ras.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and US President Donald Trump have discussed developments in the region and their repercussions for regional and international peace during a phone call, reports Al Jazeera, citing WAM.

The two leaders also discussed the “blatant and continuous Iranian aggressions against the UAE and other countries in the region, which target civilians, civilian facilities, and infrastructure, representing a violation of the sovereignty of these countries and international laws”, WAM reported.

Trump condemned these attacks, emphasising Washington’s solidarity with the UAE and the countries of the region, and “its full support for them in defending their territories, stability, and security”.

The European Union (EU) has called for a “moratorium” on strikes against energy and water facilities in the US-Israeli war on Iran, reports AFP.

“The European Council calls for de-escalation and maximum restraint, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and full respect of international law by all parties,” the bloc’s leaders said in conclusions adopted at summit talks in Brussels.

EU leaders further condemned “any acts that threaten navigation or prevent vessels from entering and exiting the Strait of Hormuz”.

And they welcomed “the increased efforts announced by member states, including through strengthened coordination with partners in the region, to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, once the conditions are met”.