A KUWAITI oil refinery came under Iranian drone attack early today and sirens in Israel warned of incoming fire, while explosions boomed over Tehran from Israeli strikes as the country marked the Persian New Year.

As the US and Israel’s illegal and unprovoked war on Iran, launched on February 28, continued to rock the global economy, Iran showed no signs of letting up on its strategy of attacking the energy structure of the Gulf region and US and Israeli military targets.

US President Donald Trump continued to rage at US allies for refusing to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, posting on social media that Nato states were “cowards.”

Kuwait said the Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery was on fire and crews were working to control the blaze.

The refinery, which can process some 730,000 barrels of oil per day, was already damaged on Thursday in another Iranian attack. 

Iran stepped up its attacks on energy sites in Gulf Arab states after Israel on Wednesday bombed Iran’s massive South Pars offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf.

The Iranians also launched more than a dozen missile salvos at Israel following the attack on South Pars.

South Pars, the Iranian part of the world’s largest gas field, is located offshore in the Persian Gulf and owned jointly with Qatar. 

With some 80 per cent of power generated in Iran coming from natural gas, the attack posed a direct threat to the country’s electricity supplies.

Heavy explosions also shook Dubai and Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said a fire broke out after shrapnel from an intercepted projectile landed on a warehouse. 

Saudi Arabia reported shooting down multiple drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

Late on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country would hold off on any further attacks on the gas field at the request of US President Donald Trump after the Iranian response sent gas prices skyrocketing.

Mr Netanyahu also claimed Iran’s capability to produce ballistic missiles had been taken out, but the Iranians insist they are still in production.

“We are producing missiles even during war conditions, which is amazing, and there is no particular problem in stockpiling,” spokesman General Ali Mohammad Naeini was quoted as saying in Iran’s IRAN newspaper.

General Naeini, who was killed early today in an air attack, according to Iranian television, said Iran had no intention of seeking a quick end to the war.

He said: “These people expect the war to continue until the enemy is completely exhausted. 

“This war must end when the shadow of war is lifted from the country.”