Bloomberg reports:
Iran pressed ahead with attacks on Arab states in the Persian Gulf even after Israel signaled it would refrain from hitting the Islamic Republic’s energy infrastructure, fueling volatility in markets roiled by the war in the oil-rich region.
Kuwait shut several units at its Al Ahmadi refinery after multiple strikes. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia said they intercepted missiles and drones overnight into Friday, while Bahrain reported a fire at a warehouse.
Israel said it struck infrastructure across Iran, including in the capital Tehran, while the Islamic Republic launched a fresh wave of retaliatory missile attacks.
The fighting, which has dragged on for three weeks, has killed more than 4,200 people across the region and brought shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and LNG flows — to a near standstill. Iran’s attacks on critical energy sites have eased from a peak earlier this week, helping push oil prices lower after they hit an almost four-year high.
Still, risks of lasting damage to energy supplies remain, with Qatar saying almost a fifth of its LNG production has been knocked out for as long as five years. The fallout of the war is spreading globally, with fuel, shipping and household costs already rising.