Despite ceasefire, Iran claims refinery hit, launches wave of attacks against UAE, Kuwait

First two ships traverse Strait of Hormuz; Vance warns ceasefire is ‘fragile,’ tells Iran that Trump is ‘not one to mess around;’ IRGC says no trust in US promises, has ‘finger on trigger’

Iran launched a wave of missiles and drones at targets in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, hours after a two-week ceasefire went into effect, claiming that it was in retaliation for a strike on Iranian oil facilities.

The UAE said Wednesday afternoon its air defenses intercepted 17 ballistic missiles and 35 drones originating from Iran. It did not say what Iran had targeted.

Three people were lightly wounded, the UAE defense ministry statement said.

Kuwait’s military said it has responded to an “extensive wave” of drone attacks targeting oil and power facilities despite the ceasefire announcement.

The military said it engaged 31 drones that targeted the oil-rich country since 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The attacks caused significant damage to oil and power facilities and water desalination plants.

Kuwait urged Iran and its allies to halt hostilities “to immediately cease all hostilities.”

Iranian state television said the strikes were in retaliation for an attack on Iran’s Lavan island on Wednesday morning.

“Missile and drone attacks on the Emirates and Kuwait have taken place a few hours after the targeting of Lavan island oil facilities in Iran,” IRIB said in a report.

It was not clear who had carried out the strike on Lavan. Both the US and Israel have halted attacks on Iran and the The IDF denied any involvement in the reported strikes.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that they attacked overnight energy complexes and oil transfer lines linked to the US and Israel, including oil facilities in Saudi Arabia’s port city Yanbu, state media reported.

The announcement came hours after Iran, the US and Israel reached a two-week ceasefire in the war.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also warned that they had “no trust” in promises from the United States, adding that their “finger was on the trigger.”

“The Iranian nation’s dedicated guards are listening to the orders of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, His Holiness Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, and their finger is on the trigger,” read a statement on their Telegram channel.

Calling on Gulf countries to end their “cooperation” with the United States, the Guards added: “The enemy has always been deceitful, and we have no trust in its promises, and we will respond to every aggression at a greater level.”

Fragile truce

Amid the continuing violence, US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday acknowledged the truce was “fragile” and urged Tehran to negotiate in “good faith” to reach a long-term deal, warning that US President Donald Trump was “not one to mess around.”

Tehran has warned that the war is not over until formal terms are negotiated.

“If the Iranians are willing in good faith to work with us, I think we can make an agreement,” Vance said during a visit to Budapest.

He added, if the Iranians don’t come to the negotiating table, “they’re going to find out that the President of the United States is not one to mess around. He’s impatient. He’s impatient to make progress.”

Vance said Trump had shown “that we still have clear military, diplomatic and maybe most importantly, we have extraordinary economic leverage.”

“If they’re going to lie, if they’re going to cheat, if they’re trying to prevent even the fragile truce that we’ve set up from taking place, then they’re not going to be happy,” he added.

In a sign that parts of the truce were being implemented, two ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Iran agreed to reopen the waterway, maritime monitor Marine Traffic said Wednesday.

“The Greek-owned bulk carrier NJ Earth crossed the Strait at 08:44 UTC, while the Liberia-flagged Daytona Beach transited earlier at 06:59 UTC, shortly after departing Bandar Abbas at 05:28 UTC”, MarineTraffic said on X.

The United States and Iran agreed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday to a two-week ceasefire, during which passage through the Strait of Hormuz “will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X.

“NJ Earth’s transit may be an early sign of movement, but it is still too soon to tell whether this reflects a broader ceasefire-driven reopening or a previously approved exception,” Ana Subasic, analyst at MarineTraffic owner Kpler, told AFP.

The Greek-owned ship kept its transponder signal on as it transited the strait via an Iranian-approved route near Larak Island, used by most vessels crossing the waterway for the past three weeks.

AFP could not immediately confirm the ship’s destination.

“While we expect more crossings in the coming days, from a risk and compliance perspective, this first transit should be read cautiously,” Subasic added.

Some shipowners and charterers are preparing to move their vessels stuck in the Gulf, shipping journal Lloyd’s List reported on Wednesday morning. It estimates that around 800 ships are currently stuck in the Gulf.

Access to the strait was severely restricted by Iran in retaliation against US and Israeli attacks since February 28.

From March 1 to April 7, commodities carriers have made 307 crossings, according to Kpler data, a 95-percent decrease from peacetime traffic.

Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passes through the waterway in peacetime.