Iran strikes more Gulf targets as Trump warns of further attacks

[TEHERAN] Iran targeted more sites in Arab Gulf states overnight and into Friday (Apr 3), hours after US President Donald Trump issued fresh threats against Iranian infrastructure to pressure Teheran to start peace negotiations.

A drone attack caused a fire at Kuwait’s Mina Al Ahmadi oil refinery. Kuwaiti media said there were no immediate reports of casualties, and teams were working to put out the blaze. Authorities also said a power and water desalination plant was attacked early on Friday, causing damage to some components. 

Abu Dhabi suspended operations at its Habshan gas facilities to deal with a fire caused by debris from a projectile interception. No injuries were reported. Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted several drones in the early morning.

On Thursday, Trump posted a video of a destroyed bridge and said there would be “much more to follow” if Iran did not agree to a deal to end the conflict, now almost five weeks old and which has caused a global energy crisis.

Iran remained defiant, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying strikes on civilian structures “will not compel Iranians to surrender”. The country has shown little sign of accepting Trump’s demands for peace and has laid out its own conditions – most of them unacceptable to the US and Israel.

CNN reported that about half of Iran’s missile launchers are still intact – despite more than 12,000 US and Israeli strikes on Iran since they began the war in late February – and that thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran’s arsenal. The assessment may include launchers that are currently inaccessible even if they are not destroyed, CNN reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

Trump signalled this week he may be willing to pull US forces out of the conflict in two to three weeks, even if the vital Strait of Hormuz is still effectively shut.

US allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia are stepping up efforts to ensure the waterway – through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally flow – is reopened soon.

More than 40 of them met virtually on Thursday to discuss plans, in a signal to Trump of their concern about the crisis triggered by the closure, with prices of energy and other commodities soaring in the past month.

SEE ALSO

Trump threatens Iran infrastructure as he presses for a deal

The group was clear that the US needed to include a solution for Hormuz in any ceasefire talks with Iran, people familiar with the discussions said. Still, the meeting showed the coalition of countries deems it necessary to begin preparations for having to reopen the strait without the US.

Nations such as France and the UK have said military options are unlikely to work and that a ceasefire is needed.

The strait remains all but shut. Iran appeared to tighten its grip on Thursday when its media reported that the government is drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor shipping traffic. That would require shippers to pay tolls to Iran, according to the country’s deputy foreign minister. Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait from Iran, has yet to comment on the reports.

The passage is officially in international waters, and any attempt by Iran to assert control over traffic will be strongly opposed by Western powers and Gulf Arab states.

A trickle of ships is managing to pass through. A container ship signalling French ownership recently exited the Strait of Hormuz, in what appears to be the first known transit by a vessel linked to Western Europe since the war began, Bloomberg reported.

The United Nations Security Council will likely vote on Friday on a resolution that would support a range of measures to reopen Hormuz.

Bahrain, supported by Jordan and Arab Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is proposing the resolution, according to the UAE. It would provide “a clear legal basis for all states to mobilise and support safe passage”, the UAE said in a post on X.

In the oil market, WTI crude – the main benchmark for the US – settled above US$110 a barrel for the first time since 2022 on Thursday. Fuel continued to edge higher worldwide, with diesel prices in Europe rising above US$200 a barrel.

Oil markets are closed for Easter holidays on Friday.

Trump has oscillated between casting diplomatic efforts as productive and threatening further destruction, including on civilian and energy infrastructure.

Earlier in the week, he threatened to target Iran’s energy facilities and water desalination plants if the strait stays shut – a move that could constitute a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. He previously said Iran has until Apr 6 to reopen Hormuz or have its power plants destroyed. It is unclear if that deadline is still in place.

Trump is under increasing pressure from Americans to ease the energy shock, which has seen petrol pump prices in the country surge to more than US$4 a gallon on average – the highest level in almost four years.

The US president has insisted prices will drop quickly once the war is over. He says the conflict was necessary to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb – something Teheran has always denied it wants – and to destroy its stockpile of missiles.

On Thursday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to step down immediately. The Pentagon did not give a reason.

A prolonged conflict carries political risks for Trump and his Republican Party as the November midterm elections approach.

Polls show significant numbers of Americans disapprove of military operations against Iran and a rising number are concerned about the economic impact of the war.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far, almost three-quarters of them in Iran, according to government organisations and the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Just over 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting a parallel war against Iran-allied Hizbollah. BLOOMBERG