Iran attacks energy infrastructure across Gulf states

Earlier, authorities in Abu Dhabi said they were battling fires at a petrochemical plant in Ruwais Industrial City on the UAE’s northwest coast.

“Authorities are responding to multiple fires in Borouge petrochemicals plant, caused by falling debris following successful interceptions by air defence systems,” the Gulf emirate’s media office said.

“Operations at the facility have been immediately suspended while damage is assessed. No injuries have been reported,” it added after the United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry earlier said it was responding to missile and drone attacks.

Iran’s military said it was targeting “aluminium industries” in the UAE and US military infrastructure in Kuwait, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Iran has repeatedly threatened civilian infrastructure in the Gulf countries as US-Israeli attacks on Iran have also hit targets that are key to its economy.

On Saturday, a strike on a petrochemical hub in southwest Iran killed five people, the deputy governor of Khuzestan province said.

In Bahrain on Sunday, the state energy company said an Iranian drone attack sparked a fire at a storage tank that was later extinguished.

“Bapco Energies confirms an incident occurred at one of its storage facilities earlier today resulting in a tank fire, as a result of a hostile Iranian drone attack,” the company said, without specifying the location of the blaze.

It added that the damage was being assessed and no injuries were reported.

Iran’s escalating threats have also extended to desalination plants on which the desert Gulf states rely heavily for their water supplies.