Dubai: Iran intensified attacks on Gulf Arab energy infrastructure on Thursday, setting Qatari liquefied natural gas facilities and a Kuwaiti oil refinery ablaze in retaliation after an Israeli strike on its main natural gas field, a major escalation that has pushed global fuel prices higher.
A ship burned off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and another was damaged off Qatar, highlighting the danger to vessels from Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar said firefighters extinguished a blaze at a major Ras Laffan LNG facility after it was hit by Iranian missiles. Production had already been halted after earlier attacks, and officials said the latest missile wave caused “sizeable fires and extensive further damage,” which could delay Qatar’s ability to return supplies to the market even after the conflict ends.
A drone attack on Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery sparked a fire but caused no injuries, the state-run KUNA news agency reported. Mina Al-Ahmadi is one of the Middle East’s largest refineries, with a capacity of about 730,000 barrels per day.
Authorities in Abu Dhabi said they shut down operations at the Habshan gas facility and the Bab field, calling the Iranian overnight attacks a “dangerous escalation.”
Kuwait says drone attack targeting oil refinery sparked fire
March 19, 2026 12:50 pm
Kuwait said Thursday a drone attack sparked a fire at an oil refinery in the small, oil-rich nation. The state-run KUNA news agency cited the Kuwait Petroleum Corp. for the announcement. It said the drone attack sparked a fire at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery but caused no injuries. The refinery is one of the biggest in the Middle East, with a petroleum production capacity of 730,000 barrels per day.
Saudi Aramco-Exxon refinery SAMREF in Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu targeted: Source
March 19, 2026 11:29 am
Oil giant Saudi Aramco’s SAMREF refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu was targeted in an aerial attack on Thursday, an industry source said, adding there was minimal impact. The attack followed other strikes on energy facilities in Qatar and the UAE in response to US-Israeli strikes on Iranian energy installations. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had issued evacuation warnings to several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, including SAMREF, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil. The warning followed a strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, a major escalation in the war with the United States and Israel.
Trump vows no more attacks by Israel on Iran gas field after it ‘violently lashed out’
March 19, 2026 8:29 am
US President Donald Trump said an angry Israel “violently lashed out” and attacked Iran’s major gas field, a significant escalation in the US-Israeli war, but ruled out further such attacks by Israel unless Iran retaliated. Wednesday’s attack on the huge South Pars gas field drove oil prices higher and prompted a threat by Iran to strike oil and gas targets across the Gulf, while it fired missiles at Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia reserves right to military action against Iran: Foreign Minister
March 19, 2026 8:29 am
Saudi Arabia reserves the right to act militarily against Iran and any trust with Tehran has been shattered, the Saudi foreign minister said early on Thursday after Riyadh was targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles. Iran accused Israel of striking its South Pars gas facilities and retaliated by vowing attacks on oil and gas targets throughout the Gulf. In the harshest comments so far during nearly three weeks of war, the minister accused Iran of premeditated hostile actions against its neighbors, directly and via regional proxies, and urged Tehran to rein them in.
Iran launches multiple-warhead missiles at Israel
March 19, 2026 8:19 am
Responding to the killing of Larijani, the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said Wednesday it had attacked central Israel with multiple-warhead missiles designed to better evade defenses. Footage filmed by The Associated Press showed at least one missile releasing a cluster of munitions over Israel.
Israel pressures Hezbollah in Lebanon
March 19, 2026 8:19 am
Continuing pressure on Iran-backed Hezbollah, Israeli strikes hit multiple apartment buildings in Beirut, killing at least a dozen people. Israel flattened an apartment building in central Beirut about an hour after issuing an evacuation notice — the fourth time the building was targeted. Israel’s military said the building was being used by Hezbollah to store “millions of dollars intended to finance its activities,” without providing independent evidence.
Iran keeps up strikes on Gulf countries’ oil facilities
March 19, 2026 8:19 am
QatarEnergy said on X that a missile hit its massive Ras Laffan LNG facility, sparking a fire that caused “extensive” damage before it was extinguished. The company had already halted production there because of earlier attacks. Since the war began, only a handful of ships from Iran, Turkey, India and elsewhere have managed to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says the waterway remains open, but not to the US or its allies.
