Firefighters battled a fresh blaze at Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery on Friday following another Iranian drone attack.

This occurred as millions in Iran marked the Persian New Year, Nowruz, with subdued celebrations amid the ongoing war.

European leaders called on Thursday for an end to attacks targeting Gulf energy infrastructure. Despite this, Kuwait reported a fire at its giant Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery for the second time that week. The incident followed a direct strike on Qatar’s key Ras Laffan facility the previous day.

Iranian authorities promised retaliation after an Israeli strike on Wednesday damaged the South Pars gas field. This field taps into the world’s largest known gas reserve and is essential for Iran’s domestic supplies.

Escalating attacks on Gulf energy sites have sparked worries about prolonged damage to oil and gas supplies. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested the fighting might end soon.

“We are winning and Iran is being decimated,” the Israeli premier said at a press conference on Thursday, claiming Tehran no longer had the capacity to manufacture ballistic missiles.

“This war is ending a lot faster than people think,” he added in comments that also suggested a “ground component” would be needed to overthrow the government.

Iran’s leaders have vowed to conclude the conflict on their terms despite an Israeli assassination campaign and three weeks of bombardment.

“Our missile industry deserves a perfect score… and there is no concern in this regard, because even under wartime conditions we continue missile production,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency.

Moments after his message was shared by the agency, the Revolutionary Guards said he had been killed in an airstrike.

Tehran faced a new round of Israeli bombardment on Friday. This dashed truce hopes as the country observed Nowruz and Muslims in the Gulf and beyond celebrated Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan.

The Israeli army struck a northern region near the Caspian Sea, a popular holiday area largely spared until now.

Sixteen Iranian cargo vessels were sunk in Gulf ports “following the American–Zionist air attack”, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.

“We assume and hope that there will be no attacks on the first day of the new year,” Hoda, a resident in Saveh south of Tehran, had told AFP on Thursday.

In Tehran’s markets, shoppers bought new clothes and gifts in large numbers. Sidewalks were less crowded than typical for the season, as many had fled north, according to AFP correspondents.

Huge banners featuring Nowruz images, which starts officially in the evening, replaced portraits of late leader Ali Khamenei. He was assassinated by Israel on February 28, the war’s first day.

As the war approaches its fourth week, Iran maintains control over the Strait of Hormuz. A fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through this route.

Energy analysts and consumers assess the impact of Iranian missiles striking Qatar’s Ras Laffan natural gas complex on Thursday.

The attack inflicted “extensive damage” that Qatar’s state energy company estimated could cost $20 billion annually in lost revenue and require five years for repairs.

Such damage risks sustained high energy prices beyond the conflict, fueling inflation and slowing economic growth.

“Short disruptions create price volatility. Sustained damage creates lasting economic shock,” Robert Pape, a political science and military expert at the University of Chicago, wrote on his Substack.

“This is how a regional war becomes an historic global economic crisis.”

He cautioned against further escalation, including a limited ground invasion by US President Donald Trump and Netanyahu to secure the Strait of Hormuz or topple the government.

Netanyahu indicated regime change might need “a ground component”, without details.

“There are many possibilities for this ground component and I take the liberty of not sharing (those) with you,” he said.

Trump denied on Thursday considering such action.

“If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you. But I’m not putting troops,” he told reporters.

Iranian state media described multiple missile waves launched at Israel overnight and Friday morning, with explosions over Jerusalem. No casualties were reported.

The United Arab Emirates reported missile attacks, while Saudi Arabia intercepted over a dozen drones early Friday. Gulf nations began Eid al-Fitr observances.

The war has killed thousands and displaced millions, extending to Lebanon with regular Israeli bombardments responding to Hezbollah rocket fire.

Lebanon’s health ministry reported over 1,000 deaths from Israeli airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, Beirut, and its southern suburbs.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, meeting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday, renewed calls for a truce between Israel and Hezbollah plus negotiations. France’s president later tied this to Israel’s agreement.

Amid rising economic concerns, President Emmanuel Macron announced France would discuss with UN Security Council permanent members a framework to secure Strait of Hormuz navigation—but only after hostilities cease.