The Trump administration is considering plans for an occupation or blockade of Iran’s Kharg Island, Axios reported on Friday. The island is crucial to Iran’s energy trade, with up to 90% of the country’s energy exports passing through the island’s terminal. According to the report, the US aims to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for oil from the Persian Gulf. A source said that the US military needs “about a month to weaken the Iranians more with strikes” before a potential occupation of the island, as Kharg is within reach of the Iranian mainland, which would put US assets in danger. An unnamed US official said the administration is also considering sending more Marines to the Middle East, but has not made a decision on a possible coastal invasion.
Iran Strikes Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery
Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery was hit by Iranian drones early on Friday in attacks that caused a fire in several units at the facility, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of de-escalation despite the most recent U.S. and Israeli rhetoric. The refinery, which is located 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Kuwait City and has the capacity to process 346,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, came under drone attacks in the early hours of Friday, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said in a statement carried by the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). “The attacks resulted in a fire in several units within the refinery but caused no injuries, according to preliminary assessments,” KPC said. Separately, Kuwait’s General Fire Force said its teams are dealing with a fire that broke out in one of the units at Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery following drone attacks. In addition, the Kuwaiti Armed Forces confirmed that “it is currently responding to hostile missiles & drone threats, urging the public to adhere to safety & security instructions issued by the relevant authorities.” Friday’s attacks at Kuwait and its energy infrastructure follow previous strikes from Thursday on assets on Kuwaiti and Saudi energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Ali Mohammad Naini, spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed in U.S.-Israeli air strikes at dawn on Friday, according to state media reports. The war continues despite assurances from Israel that it would not hit again Iran’s huge gas field South Pars. Israel was scolded by U.S. President Donald Trump for the decision to strike the gas infrastructure in Iran.
NN: They have now gotten to the point where they are blowing the crap out if each others oil assets.
US F-35 jet said to be damaged after being hit by Iran
A United States F-35 fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing at one of the American air bases in the Middle East due to the damage sustained after allegedly being hit by an Iranian strike, CNN reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter. According to the report, US Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins stated that the jet was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when he was forced to land due to an “incident” that is under investigation. He noted that the stealth jet landed safely and that the pilot is “in stable condition.”
Iran hit Israel’s Bazan oil refinery
An Iranian missile struck Israel’s Bazan oil refinery in Haifa, resulting in fires, local media reported on Thursday. The plant is Israel’s largest and most critical fuel facility, supplying about 50 to 60% of the country’s fuel. The incident, which triggered sirens throughout northern Israel, central Israel, and the Jerusalem region, resulted in no reported injuries, according to the Times of Israel. Rescue personnel were deployed to the locations of reported missile hits or falling fragments in the area, it further stated. The reported missile attack triggered power outages in the Krayot suburbs of Haifa. Iranian state television added that the Haifa oil refinery was targeted in retaliation for the strike on the South Pars gas field.
Saudi Aramco, Exxon Yanbu Refinery Targeted as Red Sea Export Risks Rise
World’s Largest LNG Site Suffers Heavy Damages After Massive Explosion
Qatar’s Ras Laffan plant closed earlier this month after an Iranian drone attack, the first interruption to supply in three decades of operation. Now, after further hits — in retaliation for an Israeli strike on the vast South Pars fields on Wednesday — the wider complex has suffered what Qatar describes as extensive damage, potentially significantly delaying any return to normality. Neither the scale of destruction nor the extent of repair work required for resumption is clear. But every day the operation isn’t running, the energy strain on economies across the world increases. For emerging nations, vital growth markets for LNG, a second gas calamity in four years is already destroying industrial demand — perhaps irreparably. Three weeks of conflict in the Middle East have upended the entire energy supply chain. With the vital Strait of Hormuz all but closed, gasoline and jet fuel prices are surging, cooking gas shortages are triggering fistfights in India and farmers are fretting about diesel and fertilizer. But with virtually no spare capacity, no strategic reserves and no easy replacements, LNG may be one of the most acute pain points in an expanding crisis.The longer this continues, the only solution is for the world to use less gas — and that’s a major setback for a fuel promoted by the industry as a reliable and affordable bridge from dirty coal to full reliance on renewable power. Without gas, power plants curtail output, fertilizer and textile factories shut. The ripple effect from a long-term shock could be even more significant than the 2022 energy crisis, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced dramatic changes in global gas flows. “We are now well on our way to a doomsday gas crisis scenario,” said Saul Kavonic, energy analyst at MST Marquee. “Even once the war ends, the disruption to LNG supply could last for months or even years — depending how long it takes to repair the damage.”
Qatar LNG Complex Destroyed In Second Strike In Two Days
QatarEnergy has reported more strikes on its LNG infrastructure in the early hours of Thursday, saying on X that “several of its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities were the subject of missile attacks, causing sizeable fires and extensive further damage.” The company also said emergency response teams were on site to contain the damage. The latest escalation follows retaliatory strikes by Iran on Qatar and other neighbors after Israel launched missiles at Iranian gas processing infrastructure in the South Pars field, which Iran shares with Qatar. It is the biggest natural gas field in the world. The Wednesday exchange prompted President Trump to warn Iran not to retaliate further, saying Israel had “lashed out” but will not repeat the strikes if Iran stayed put. Saudi Arabia, which was among the legitimate retaliation targets announced by Iran on Wednesday, issued its own warning of possible retaliation. “This pressure from Iran will backfire politically and morally, and certainly we reserve the right to take military actions, if deemed necessary,” the kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the media. The latest developments in gas markets are particularly bad news for European countries, which source most of their gas from abroad and are currently facing depleted storage and the need to buy a lot more gas than last year to replenish that storage.
NN: The Euro wind farm greeniewinnies fagot assholes woks have really screwed royally and got their dicks broke this time. They got the vast gas deposits of the Netherlands, Germany and the North sea are capped. So they were buying gas at ten times the price. Now their biggest supplier is off line. How stupid is that!
JP Morgan Flags Oil Price ‘Misalignment’
In an oil flash note by Natasha Kaneva, J.P. Morgan’s head of global commodities strategy, analysts at the company, including Kaneva, flagged an oil price “misalignment”. The J.P. Morgan analysts outlined in this note that, “despite the scale of the disruption”, which they described as “arguably one of the largest exogenous supply shocks in recent history”, benchmark oil prices have “remained relatively contained, with Brent trading near $100 per barrel and WTI around $95”. The analysts stated that, at face value, this could be interpreted as market complacency. They added that a closer examination, however, “suggests a misalignment between benchmark pricing and the geography of the disruption”. “The key issue is that both Brent and WTI are Atlantic Basin benchmarks, while the current shock is concentrated in the Middle East,” the J.P. Morgan analysts said. “As such, these benchmarks are disproportionally influenced by regional fundamentals that remain comparatively loose,” they added. The analysts highlighted in the note that both the U.S. and Europe entered 2026 with comfortable commercial inventories, and said the broader Atlantic Basin remains relatively well supplied in the near term. “In addition, the anticipation – and soon a partial realization – of SPR [Strategic Petroleum Reserve] releases has further dampened prompt tightness in both Brent- and WTI-linked markets,” the analysts highlighted. “By contrast, Middle Eastern benchmarks such as Dubai and Oman provide a more accurate reflection of the physical dislocation,” they continued.
The analysts pointed out in the note that both Dubai and Oman cash prices were trading around $155 per barrel, “highlighting the severity of the shortage in barrels originating from the Gulf”.
“These benchmarks are directly exposed to export disruptions and therefore capture marginal scarcity more effectively than Atlantic-linked crudes,” they said. The analysts went on to state that the geography of trade amplifies this dynamic. “Most crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are bound for Asia, with China, India, Japan, and South Korea as the principal buyers,” they noted. “As a result, the immediate physical shortfall is concentrated in Asian markets, where reliance on Gulf barrels is greatest. Early signs of demand destruction are emerging in Asia as product prices surge and spot barrels become prohibitively expensive,” they said. The J.P. Morgan analysts went on to warn that, “in this context, the apparent stability in Brent and WTI should not be taken as evidence of ample global supply”.
“If the Strait does not reopen, this divergence is unlikely to persist – Brent and WTI will ultimately reprice higher as Atlantic basin inventories are drawn down and the global market is forced to clear at a materially tighter supply level,” they continued.
According to Lloyd’s list, “Iran has attacked 16 tankers and other vessels in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman since the war began on February 28”. “Most of these attacks were near the Strait of Hormuz (the Strait), through which roughly 20 percent each of global crude oil and seaborne gas flows,” the analysts added, noting that Iran has “vowed to keep the Strait effectively closed for the time being”. “Few ships are willing to risk traversing the narrow shipping lane until it is secure,” they said. “However, currently, there are no actionable plans for the U.S. and allied forces to escort commercial shipping, and their ability to entirely secure the Strait anytime soon appears unlikely,” they added.
IRGC issues evacuation notice for Gulf energy sites
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued on Wednesday an evacuation notice for several oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.
The IRGC listed Samref Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex in Saudi Arabia, Messieed Petrochemical Complex and Messieed Holding Company, together with Ras Laffan Refinery in Qatar, as well as Al-Hosn Gas Field in the UAE, declaring that energy sites now qualify as legitimate targets.
“Therefore, all citizens, residents, and employees are asked to leave these areas immediately and move to a safe distance without any delay,” it was stated in the notice after Iran’s media reported that natural gas and oil facilities at South Pars were targeted.
Brent up 4.5% on reports of strikes on Iran’s oil sites
Crude oil prices turned to gains on Wednesday, with Brent futures rising by more than 4.5% as traders digested the latest reports from the Iranian media, which claimed that the country’s Asaluyeh refinery and South Pars, Iran’s portion of the world’s largest gas field, came under attack earlier today, with several phases being hit and removed from the circuit at both sites.
Brent for deliveries in May jumped by 4.68% to $108.51 per barrel at 9:00 am ET. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April’s settlements increased by 1.75% and went for $97.89 per barrel at 8:57 am ET.