FIRES burned across Kuwait’s largest oil refinery for a second consecutive day as Iran widened its strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure, while Tehran warned Britain that allowing the US to use its military bases makes it a participant in an illegal war.
In a phone call with British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the US-Israeli assault had killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, several senior officials and hundreds of civilians, in violation of international law.
‘These actions will certainly be regarded as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between our two countries,’ he said, adding that Iran ‘reserves our inherent right to defend our sovereignty and independence.’
Araghchi criticised the UK and other governments for condemning Iran’s retaliatory strikes while staying silent over the Israeli attack on South Pars.
Pointing to Article 51 of the UN Charter, he said: ‘Unfortunately, US bases are located in these countries and have been used to attack us, and these countries have failed to meet their international responsibility to prevent their territory from being used for attacks against Iran.’
He warned that support for the aggressors would ‘make the circumstance more complex’, called on London to stop platforming ‘terrorist’ television channels backing hostile actions against Iran, and said ‘any cessation of hostilities must be accompanied by guarantees preventing the repetition of such aggression’.
Drones struck Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi refinery, which processes around 730,000 barrels per day, for the second morning running, shutting multiple units with no casualties reported.
The IRGC also struck US forces at the UAE’s al-Dhafra airbase and hit targets inside Israel.
Bahrain said shrapnel sparked a warehouse fire and Saudi Arabia claimed to have intercepted more than a dozen drones.
The campaign is Iran’s retaliation for the Israeli strike on South Pars, which supplies roughly 80 per cent of Iran’s domestic natural gas.
Qatar’s Ras Laffan, the world’s largest terminal, has sustained catastrophic damage, wiping out approximately 17 per cent of global LNG supply and costing an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue.
Araghchi had warned the strikes represented only ‘a fraction’ of Iran’s capabilities, threatening ‘zero restraint’ should its energy facilities come under attack again.