Air-raid sirens and explosions echoed across Israel, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as air defenses engaged waves of drones and missiles the nations attributed to Iran. At least two refineries were set ablaze, either by direct drone strikes or falling debris, officials reported. The attacks came as former President Trump renewed aggressive warnings toward Tehran on Day 35 of the war.
On social media late Thursday, Trump said U.S. forces had not yet begun dismantling Iran’s capabilities, indicating that bridges and power plants could be targeted next and urging rapid action against Iran’s leadership. Iranian authorities reported that one of the long spans linking Tehran to Karaj was destroyed overnight; security officials later identified the damaged structure as the B1 bridge, then under construction, and said eight people were killed. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned it could retaliate by striking major bridges in the Gulf region.
Among Friday’s incidents, Kuwait’s largest refinery, Mina Al-Ahmadi, caught fire after a drone strike, with several processing units burning as emergency crews worked to contain the blaze; no injuries were reported. In the UAE, officials said debris from an intercepted attack ignited a fire at the Habshan gas facility. Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said it intercepted and destroyed roughly a dozen drones. Israel’s health ministry reported 148 people treated in the last day, mostly for minor wounds, bringing the total treated since the war began to 6,594.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned strikes on civilian infrastructure, saying attacks on such targets will not force Iranians to capitulate. Iranian exiled opposition figures also criticized threats to civilian sites; Reza Pahlavi warned that targeting infrastructure would disproportionately harm ordinary people.
These exchanges are unfolding against attempts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane Tehran has largely blocked in response to earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes that began Feb. 28. The blockade has tightened supplies and driven up prices for oil, gas and fertilizer. Brent crude jumped about 7.8% to roughly US$109.03 a barrel on Friday — approximately a 50% rise since the conflict began.
Leaders from roughly 40 countries met virtually at the U.K.’s request to discuss diplomatic and economic measures to press Iran to reopen the strait, but produced no concrete agreement. The session, hosted by U.K. foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, included European nations, Canada and the UAE but excluded the U.S. and Israel. Cooper characterized Iran’s actions as hijacking a global shipping route and noted that daily traffic through the strait had fallen from about 150 vessels to just 10–20. Attendees discussed coordinated diplomatic pressure and possible sanctions, rejected any Iranian effort to impose transit fees, and agreed military planners from participant countries would meet next week to explore defensive options once active fighting eases.
French President Emmanuel Macron called military action to reopen the strait unrealistic, saying it would expose commercial shipping to Iranian attack. Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said they would coordinate efforts to restore passage. Several U.S. allies have reiterated they will not become militarily involved in the conflict’s most intense phase.
Separately, investigative outlet Bellingcat released a report alleging that UAE authorities downplayed or mischaracterized several Iranian strikes. Using open-source video and satellite imagery, Bellingcat said a migrant worker’s clip appears to show a drone hitting fuel tanks in Fujairah in early March and that satellite photos show three destroyed tanks, while the emirate’s media office described the incident as a fire caused by debris after an interception. The group also cited apparent strikes on Dubai airport and a hotel that were not publicly acknowledged and satellite images showing two separate fires at Dubai’s port when officials had reported a single blaze.
The situation remains fluid as regional air defenses, maritime traffic and international diplomacy continue to react to fresh strikes and threats.