Kuwait's Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery and a key power and desalination plant were struck by drone and missile attacks on Friday, marking the third time the refinery has been hit amid escalating regional hostilities. State news agency KUNA reported that fires broke out in several operational units at the refinery in the early morning, though no employees were injured. Emergency teams responded immediately, and environmental authorities began monitoring air quality, dismissing rumours of a radiation leak. The power and desalination facility was hit later before midday, with the extent of damage still unclear. Al Jazeera's Malik Traina, reporting from Kuwait City, noted the country's proximity to Iran—just 80 kilometres from the Iranian coast—making it highly vulnerable. The strikes coincided with sirens and midair explosions across Kuwait as air defences intercepted incoming projectiles. An Indian national was killed on March 30 following a previous attack on the same desalination plant. Iran denied responsibility, instead blaming Israel for the assault. In the United Arab Emirates, the Habshan gas facility caught fire after debris from an intercepted missile fell onto the site, prompting a temporary suspension of operations. The UAE's defence ministry said it intercepted 19 ballistic missiles and 26 drones on Thursday, part of a broader wave of alleged Iranian attacks. Saudi Arabia shot down a drone in its airspace, while Bahrain activated missile alerts three times. Iran claimed it targeted an Oracle data centre in Dubai in retaliation for a US-Israeli strike on April 1 that injured former foreign minister Kamal Kharazi and killed his wife, though Dubai authorities dismissed the claim as "fake news." Amazon Web Services confirmed two of its UAE data centres were directly hit, with a third in Bahrain damaged by a nearby explosion, causing limited server disruptions. Iranian army spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari warned of further attacks on regional energy and communications infrastructure if the US continues threatening Iran's power facilities.
When Ebrahim Zolfaghari warns of strikes on regional infrastructure, it signals a shift from symbolic retaliation to targeted disruption of economic lifelines. The direct hits on AWS data centres and Kuwait's desalination plant show Iran is no longer limiting itself to military or energy sites but is testing the resilience of critical civilian systems. This escalation means Gulf nations can no longer assume digital infrastructure is beyond the reach of physical conflict. The war is no longer just about territory or oil—it's about control of the systems that keep modern economies running.
