Iran hits oil facilities in the Gulf states

TEHRAN: Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates after air strikes against oil facilities on its Lavan island on Wednesday morning, state television reported. '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. It quoted the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company as saying the Lavan Oil Refinery facility on the island 'was subjected to a cowardly attack' at 10:00 am (0630 GMT) despite a ceasefire deal announced late on Tuesday.
'Safety and firefighting teams are controlling and extinguishing the fire and securing the facility,' the company was quoted as saying. 'Fortunately, with the timely evacuation of employees, no casualties have been reported so far.' The Lavan refinery on the small Gulf island processes crude extracted from a nearby oilfield which supplies Iran's highest quality oil for export, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). It was Iran's 10th biggest refinery in 2020, handling 60,000 barrels of crude a day on average, according to EIA figures. Other Iranian islands in the Gulf were attacked during the war, notably the key oil export hub of Kharg where military installations were hit twice by US air strikes.
The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that 17 Iranian missiles and 35 drones had targeted its territory despite a US announcement of a two-week ceasefire with the Islamic republic. 'Blatant Iranian attacks since the ceasefire took effect have reached 17 ballistic missiles and 35 drones, and the air defences have successfully dealt with them,' the UAE's defence ministry said in a statement on X. — AFP