Iran strikes Kuwait refinery for second straight day

by · UPI

March 20 (UPI) -- Iran attacked Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery for the second time in two days on Friday, focusing its military on Persian Gulf energy infrastructure as Israel and the United States pounded Tehran.

Fires erupted in several units due to the attack, forcing officials to shut down parts of the refinery, the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said in a statement.

No injuries were reported, and emergency teams were working to contain the fires, it said.

Thursday saw Iranian drones strike the Mina Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries, sparking fires that were later extinguished.

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Established in 1949, Mina Al-Ahmadi spans 6 1/2 miles along the Kuwaiti coast, producing up to 346,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the Kuwait National Petroleum Company. The Mina Abdullah refinery has a capacity of 454,000 barrels a day. Together, they are among Kuwait's most significant refineries.

Iran has targeted Persian Gulf energy infrastructure since Wednesday after Israel attacked its South Pars gas field, hitting facilities in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The hobbled Tehran government vowed to hit the energy infrastructure of U.S. allies following the South Pars attack, causing oil costs to surge and U.S. President Donald Trump to state that Israel will not again attack the oil field unless Iran attacks Qatar again. Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City suffered "extensive damage" from the strike, according to QatarEnergy.

The state-owned energy company said 17% of the site's liquefied natural gas capacity had been reduced by the missile strikes. The reduction could cost the company $20 billion in revenue, it said Thursday.

The back-and-forth attacks on oil infrastructure have marked an escalation in the war that began late last month when the United States and Israel attacked Iran. The strikes have deepened worries of full-blown war throughout the region and economic shock worldwide.

The allies have continued to bomb Iran, with Israel saying it was conducting a "wave of strikes" targeting infrastructure in Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces said, after hitting more than 130 targets in the Iranian capital on Thursday.

Through Friday morning, the IDF repeatedly warned that missiles launched toward Israel had been detected and defense systems were operating in response.

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