Kuwaiti Desalination Plant And Oil Refinery Hit By Missile And Drone Strikes

Kuwait says its power and desalination plant was hit by an Iranian missile on Friday, as Gulf countries continue to face retaliatory strikes on the 35th day of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran.

Kuwaiti authorities said the plant was struck before midday local time on Friday. The extent of the damage is not yet known.

The attack came hours after the Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery was targeted in early morning drone strikes.

State news agency Kuwait News Agency said the attack caused fires in a “number of operational units,” and that no employees were injured.

Emergency and firefighting teams were dispatched, with environmental experts monitoring air quality.

This is the third time the refinery had been hit and that people across the country were on “high alert.”

“It’s one of the biggest refineries in the Middle East and is also critical for local consumption,” he said.

Kuwait is among the closest countries to Iran—just 80 kilometres separate Kuwait from Iran’s coastline—making it particularly vulnerable to such attacks.

In an early post on X, KUNA warned that “hostile missile and drone attacks” on Kuwait were under way. Sirens sounded amid midair explosions as interceptions of Iranian missiles were heard across the country, the agency reported.

Kuwait and much of the Gulf are highly dependent on desalinated water. An Indian national was killed on March 30 after a Kuwaiti power and desalination plant was hit. Iran denied launching the attacks and instead blamed Israel.

Data centres targeted

Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry said the country was battling a new wave of suspected Iranian missile and drone attacks.

Debris from an intercepted projectile caused a fire at the Habshan gas facility, a major Emirati gas processing complex. The Abu Dhabi Media Office said operations had been suspended while authorities responded.

UAE air defences intercepted 19 ballistic missiles and 26 drones on Thursday alone, the defence ministry said—just a fraction of the hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones Iran has allegedly launched at the country since the war began.

At least two service members have been killed and 191 people of different nationalities injured, UAE authorities said.

Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in its airspace overnight, while Bahrain sounded missile alarms three times, according to Anadolu Agency.

Iranian leaders also appear to be following through on earlier warnings to target major US technology firms in the Gulf as attacks on Iran continue.

Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Friday that Tehran had targeted an Oracle data centre in Dubai in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that injured former Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi and killed his wife on April 1.

However, the Dubai Media Office dismissed the report as “fake news.”

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