Qatar rejects Iran's claims gas strike was against US interests

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Emirati and Kuwaiti air defences were responding to missile attacks early Friday, Kuwait's army and the UAE's interior ministry said in separate statements.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Bahrain's interior ministry said air raid sirens were activated, and Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said it had intercepted a drone in the country's east.

Oil officials in Saudi Arabia are projecting that oil prices could soar past $180 a barrel if disruptions due to the Iran war persist until late April, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. 

The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strike on Tehran early Friday, following Iranian missile fire at Israel overnight.

A military statement said Israeli forced had "begun a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran", without elaborating.

The Trump administration has approved about $7 billion in weapons for the United Arab Emirates that the State Department is not required to announce to the public under rules governing U.S. arms exports, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

That is in addition to arms sales to three Middle East countries worth more than $16.5 billion announced earlier on Thursday, the Journal said.

The unannounced deals include the sale of Patriot PAC-3 Missiles worth about $5.6 billion and CH-47 Chinook helicopters costing about $1.32 billion to the UAE, the Journal said, citing U.S. officials, adding that those sales were not announced publicly because they expanded previously agreed arms deals.

Multiple loud blasts were heard over Jerusalem late Thursday after Israel reported another round of Iranian missile fire and air raid sirens rang out in the city, AFP reporters said.

Israel has detected multiple Iranian launches on Thursday, including one shortly before midnight (2200 GMT), followed by the explosions over Jerusalem.

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency services said it had not immediately received any emergency dispatch calls following the latest Iranian launch.

The United Arab Emirates authorities said on Friday they had dismantled a "terrorist network" funded and operated by Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran.

According to the state news agency, the network was involved in "money laundering, financing terrorism and threatening national security."

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah or Iran. 

The number of Iranians crossing into Turkey has dropped by about a third since the war began, with Tehran now restricting them from crossing the frontier, Turkey's interior minister said late Thursday.

"Since the start of the war, our citizens have been able to cross into Iran without restriction, however Iran has imposed restrictions on its own citizens and is not letting them cross to our side," Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci told journalists.

He did not say when the exit restrictions began.

Initially, Iranians had been able to cross into Turkey, AFP correspondents at the Kapikoy border crossing said, although they appeared to be few in number.

"Since the start of the war, there has been a fall of a quarter or almost a third in the number of Iranian citizens crossing into Turkey," he said.

At the same time, "there has been an increase in the number of Iranian citizens crossing (from Turkey) to their side," he said, without giving numbers of entries and exits.

There are three crossings along the 500-kilometre (300-mile) frontier between Turkey and Iran.

Friendly matches involving the Palestinian national team against Mauritania and Benin, scheduled to be played in Morocco later this month, have been cancelled because of the conflict in the Middle East, the Palestine Football Association (PFA) said on Thursday.

The decision comes amid widespread travel disruption across the region following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which have affected air traffic through several major Gulf transit hubs and led to airport closures on security grounds.

Coach Ihab Abu Jazar’s side had been due to face Benin on March 27, before meeting Mauritania four days later, as part of their preparations for the 2027 Asian Cup, which will be hosted by Saudi Arabia.

"The Palestinian Football Association has announced that the senior national team will be unable to participate in the friendly training camp hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco," the PFA said in a statement.

The association cited regional conditions, travel difficulties and airport closures, adding that it had been unable to complete the logistical arrangements required for the delegation to travel.

"The safety of the players and the technical and administrative staff remains our top priority," it said.

EU leaders will ask the European Commission to help their countries take temporary and targeted measures to curb the surge in energy prices triggered by the Iran war, according to draft joint conclusions seen by Reuters.

The draft document also said any measures should maintain long-term investment incentives, support faster deployment of renewables and safeguard fair competition in the EU's internal market.

Qatar's energy minister said Thursday the attacks on the country's energy installations will slash the export capacity of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by 17 percent, costing an estimated loss of $20 billion in annual revenue.

"The damage sustained by the LNG facilities will take between three to five years to repair. The impact is on China, South Korea, Italy and Belgium," said energy minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi in a statement.

"This means that we will be compelled to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts," the minister added, referring to the legal term meaning events beyond its control may lead it to miss export targets.

A US F-35 stealth warplane was hit by suspected Iranian fire and made an emergency landing at American air base in the Middle East, US media reported on Thursday.

"The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition," Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement, without confirming the reports from outlets including ABC and CNN.

"This incident is under investigation," Hawkins added.

The United States has lost multiple aircraft during the conflict - including three F-15s mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti forces, and a KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in Iraq - but none that are known to have been hit by Iranian fire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday hailed his close cooperation with US President Donald Trump on the war in Iran.

"I don't think any two leaders have been as coordinated as President Trump and I. He's the leader. I'm, you know, his ally," Netanyahu told a press conference.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran had been stripped of its ability to enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles.

"We are taking action to destroy the industries that make it possible to build missiles. Iran no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium and manufacture ballistic missiles," Netanyahu said at a televised press conference.

"We are winning and Iran is being decimated."

Lebanon's state electricity company said on Thursday that an Israeli attack knocked out power to a region of southern Lebanon.

There were no casualties in the attack, Electricite du Liban said, but it knocked out a "main transfer station" servicing the southern town of Bint Jbeil, its nearby villages and areas of the neighbouring Tyre district.

The locations are all in the south of the country, where clashes are ongoing between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops who have attempted to push deeper into Lebanon.

The cash-strapped utility company, which has for decades been unable to provide 24-hour electricity to residents, said the damage to the plant imposed "high financial costs" as well as logistical and security challenges in bringing the plant back online.

Israel's defence minister vowed last Friday that Lebanon would "pay an increasing price in damage to Lebanese national infrastructure" as the war between Israel and Hezbollah continued.

Israel has struck multiple bridges over the Litani River, which divides the south in two, this week.

France will double its humanitarian aid to Lebanon to the value of 17 million euros ($19.70 million), France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Thursday, as Lebanon grapples with Israel's military campaign in the country.

Barrot made the announcement on his social media account as he visited Beirut, as part of efforts to get a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, France's special envoy for Lebanon, had said earlier this week that it was unreasonable to expect the Lebanese government to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah while the country is being bombed by Israel.

Israel has rebuffed an offer of direct talks from Beirut as too little, too late by a government that shares its goal of wanting Hezbollah disarmed but fears that acting against it could risk civil war, sources familiar with the situation said.

Russia on Thursday accused Israel of deliberately targeting a TV crew from state-run RT broadcaster reporting from southern Lebanon with a strike that wounded a reporter and a cameraman.

"The crew's clothing clearly read 'press' and they were carrying only cameras and microphones... All these circumstances indicate that the attack on the journalists was deliberate and targeted," the Russian foreign ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

The Israeli military said the TV crew was operating in an area where a warning to leave had been issued. It regularly says it "has never and will never deliberately target journalists".

Iran announced the last day of the holy month of Ramadan would be Friday in the Shia Muslim-majority country, with the Eid al-Fitr holiday beginning the following day, state television reported.

The office of Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said that, after lunar observations, "tomorrow, Friday, will be the 30th day of the blessed month of Ramadan", followed by the Eid al-Fitr holiday which marks the end of the fasting period.

The announcement was echoed in Iraq, which also has a Shia majority, by the country's top Shia cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Khamenei was named Iran's supreme leader this month to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in an air strike at the start of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic, which Iran has dubbed the "Ramadan war".

The timing of the Eid al-Fitr holiday is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, in accordance with the Muslim lunar calendar.

This year, the last day of Ramadan coincides with Nowruz, the new year celebrated in Iran on the spring equinox.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday renewed his call for a truce and the opening of negotiations with Israel to stop the war between it and Hezbollah, during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

Lebanon was brought into the regional war on 2 March, when Hezbollah fired rockets toward Israel in response to the killing of its ally Iran's supreme leader in Israeli-US attacks.

Israel responded with heavy airstrikes across various regions and ground incursions, which combined have left more than a thousand people dead.

Aoun stressed "the necessity of a ceasefire, and to provide the necessary guarantees for its success by the parties concerned," according to a statement issued by the presidency.

The president said "the negotiating initiative he announced is still on the table, but the continued military escalation is hindering its launch", the statement added.

It said that Aoun emphasised "what is important is to stop the escalation" between Hezbollah and Israel.

Lebanon's health ministry said Thursday that Israeli attacks have killed 1,001 people in the country since war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2, raising a previous toll of 968 a day earlier.

The new ministry statement said the toll included 79 women, 118 children and 40 health workers, with 2,584 other people wounded.

Russia on Thursday accused Israel of deliberately targeting a TV crew from state-run RT broadcaster reporting from southern Lebanon with a strike that wounded a reporter and a cameraman.

"The crew's clothing clearly read 'press' and they were carrying only cameras and microphones... All these circumstances indicate that the attack on the journalists was deliberate and targeted," the Russian foreign ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

The Israeli military said the TV crew was operating in an area where a warning to leave had been issued. It regularly says it "has never and will never deliberately target journalists".

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that Tehran will not excercise any restraint if energy facilities were attacked in the war with United States and Israel again.

"Our response to Israel's attack on our infrastructure employed FRACTION of our power. The ONLY reason for restraint was respect for requested de-escalation," said Araghchi in a post on X.

"ZERO restraint if our infrastructures are struck again."

Hezbollah said on Thursday its fighters were battling Israeli forces in south Lebanon, as a military source on the ground said Israeli troops were slowly advancing while "systematically destroying" border towns.

In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters had ambushed Israeli troops entering the border town of Taybeh and destroyed a tank.

"The enemy then attempted to continue its advance" from a nearby area, but fighters "again targeted them with guided missiles, scoring direct hits and destroying five Merkava tanks", Hezbollah added.

"Enemy soldiers were seen fleeing the area of engagement."

The Israeli army announced on Monday that it had launched "limited" ground operations in Lebanon.

A military source in south Lebanon told AFP that the Israeli army was advancing slowly and "systematically destroying" the border villages it enters.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday said "I'm not putting troops anywhere" when asked whether he was planning to send soldiers to the Middle East region amid the Iran war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a press conference with the international media at 8:30 p.m. (1830 GMT), his office said in a statement.

It is Netanyahu's second press conference since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on 28 February.

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it was monitoring the impacts of the war in Iran on global inflation and output, and that no countries had so far approached it for emergency assistance related to the conflict.

"If prolonged, higher energy prices will lead to higher headline inflation," said IMF chief spokesperson Julie Kozack at a press briefing.

Kozack said that if oil prices remained above $100 for a year or more, the estimated impact on global inflation could be a rise of up to two percent, with output dropping one percent, according to "a broad rule of thumb."

She also confirmed that the IMF had "not received any formal requests for emergency financing" in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran.

A US F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at an airbase in the Middle East after being struck by Iranian fire, according to CNN, citing two sources familiar with the matter, with a spokesperson for US CENTCOM saying that the aircraft was "flying a combat mission over Iran" at the time, and that the aircraft "landed safely, and the pilot is in a stable condition."

Hezbollah again on Thursday denied having any cells in Kuwait, a day after the Kuwaiti interior ministry announced the arrest of 10 alleged Hezbollah members on charges of planning a "terrorist" operation against the country.

This was the second Hezbollah-affiliated cell to be arrested in Kuwait this week, as the Gulf faced daily Iranian attacks during the Middle East war, which has seen Tehran-backed groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, join the conflict.

On Monday, Kuwait's interior ministry said it arrested 16 people - 14 Kuwaitis and two Lebanese nationals - affiliated with Hezbollah who had planned a "sabotage plot".

"Hezbollah affirms its categorical and absolute denial of all the false claims and accusations made by the Kuwaiti interior ministry regarding the existence of any cells, networks, or alleged plots within the State of Kuwait," the Iran-backed group said in a statement.

Kuwait's interior ministry had announced on Wednesday that "the State Security Agency has successfully thwarted a plot for a terrorist operation targeting vital installations".

Israeli media reported that an oil refinery in the northern port city of Haifa was hit on Thursday, after the military warned of incoming missiles launched from Iran.

Israel's Kan 11 public broadcaster aired images on television showing a thick plume of dark smoke rising from the area of the refinery. In a post on X, Kan reported that there were no concerns that hazardous materials had leaked.

Iran's foreign minister called for vigilance and regional coordination in separate calls with counterparts in Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan as the military warned of a tougher response to any further attacks on its energy infrastructure, state media reported on Thursday.

After its energy facilities in South Pars gas field and Asaluyeh were targeted on Wednesday, Iran retaliated against what it said were US-linked energy sites in Gulf countries, including Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, the world's largest LNG complex.

"In the calls to foreign counterparts, Araqchi assessed the US and Zionist regime's (Israel) attack on Iranian infrastructure as an act aimed at escalating tensions and destabilising the region, and urged for vigilance and coordination among regional countries in response to these threats," state media reported on Thursday.

A spokesman for the unified command of Iran's armed forces said recent strikes on the country's energy infrastructure led to "a new stage in the war" in which Iran targeted energy facilities linked to the US and American investors in the region.

"If strikes (on Iran's energy infrastructure) happen again, further attacks on your energy infrastructure and that of your allies will not stop until it is completely destroyed, and our response will be much more severe," Ebrahim Zolfaqari said according to state media.

Iran’s attacks on Qatar have damaged facilities that produce 17 percent of the company's liquefied natural gas export capacity and it will take three to five years to repair them, QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

"I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar would be - Qatar and the region - in such an attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country in the month of Ramadan, attacking us in this way," he said.

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Thursday condemned Iran's attacks on the state's main gas hub after Tehran sent waves of attacks against Gulf energy infrastructure a day earlier.

"This attack has significant repercussions for global energy supplies. Such attacks bring no direct benefit to any country, rather, they harm and directly impact populations," he told a press conference following extensive damage to the Ras Laffan facility.

Blasts were heard in Bahrain's capital of Manama on Thursday, according to an AFP correspondent, as Iran presses its aerial campaign against Gulf states.

At least two loud explosions rocked Manama after warning sirens sounded. Tehran has targeted Bahrain and other neighbouring countries in retaliatory strikes following US-Israeli attacks on Iran beginning 28 February.

Dutch airline KLM on Thursday said it would not resume flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam until at least 17 May out of safety considerations.

Iran's military renewed threats on Thursday to destroy the region's energy infrastructure were its facilities to be attacked again during the US-Israel war with the Islamic republic.

"We warn the enemy that you made a major mistake in attacking the energy infrastructure of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the response is underway and not yet finished," the military's operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement carried by Fars news agency.

"If it is repeated, subsequent attacks against your energy infrastructure and that of your allies will not stop until their complete destruction, and our response will be far more severe than" last night's attacks.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Thursday during a hearing in front of the House intelligence committee that the American and Israeli objectives during the military campaign in Iran are not the same.

"The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government," Gabbard said.

"We can see through the operations that the Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership. The president has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran's ballistic missiles launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability, and their navy," she added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday condemned the overnight Iranian strike on a Qatari gas facility, saying the government was working towards a swift resolution to the conflict in the Middle East.

"I condemn in the strongest terms the overnight Iranian strike on a Qatari gas facility," Starmer said on social media.

"We are working towards a swift resolution to the situation in the Middle East, in the best interests of the British people - because there is no question that ending the war is the quickest way to reduce the cost of living."

Six Western allies, including Britain, France, Germany and Japan, said in a joint statement Thursday they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz".

"We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning" the grouping, which also includes Italy and the Netherlands, added, as they condemned "in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf".

The statement came as around 20,000 seafarers remained stuck on approximately 3,200 vessels west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Maritime Organization, due to an effective Iranian blockade of the crucial maritime chokepoint.

An Israeli minister said on Thursday that the US-Israeli strikes against Iran were "an immense blessing" for Israel, nearly three weeks into the Middle East war.

"The debate should not be about when (the war) will end, but about how we are going to prolong and deepen the damage caused," said Zeev Elkin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party.

"Every day of the campaign is an immense blessing for the State of Israel," Elkin said, speaking on army radio.

Elkin is also a member of the security cabinet that is charged with approving large-scale military operations.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington might "unsanction" Iranian oil that is already being shipped, as energy prices surge due to the war in the Middle East.

Speaking to Fox Business, Bessent added that the US government could also release more oil from its strategic reserves.

Recently, the United States also temporarily allowed the sale of sanctioned Russian oil that is at sea as US-Israeli strikes on Iran envelop the Middle East in war.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday there is no "time frame" for ending the US-Israeli war against Iran, which was launched three weeks ago.

"We wouldn't want to set a definitive time frame," Hegseth told reporters, adding that "we're very much on track" and that President Donald Trump will be the one to decide when to stop.

Strikes killed two fighters from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi in northern Iraq early Thursday, according to two statements from the group.

The two attacks targeted their positions in the Nineveh region, where Mosul city is located, and a military airport in Salah al-Din province, according to the statements from the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), now part of Iraq's regular armed forces.

The group blamed the attack on Israel and the United States.

Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari said on Thursday it had temporarily suspended deliveries in the Middle East as war rages in the region.

"We are closely monitoring the developments in the Middle East and the potential implications for our business," it said in a statement.

"At this stage, we have temporarily suspended deliveries in the area, while managing few deliveries via airplane," the company added.

Iran's intelligence ministry has arrested 97 people for being "soldiers of Israel", state media reported on Thursday, in the latest round of a security sweep that has seen hundreds detained over alleged linked to Israel and the US since the start of the war.

Earlier on Thursday, state media quoted the police commander of Alborz province as saying that 41 people were arrested for sending videos to foreign-based opposition media channels.

Saudi oil loadings sent to the Red Sea port of Yanbu resumed after a brief halt that sent oil prices surging, two sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Loadings were halted after staff had been evacuated, one of the sources said, after a drone crashed at Saudi Aramco's SAMREF refinery at the port earlier on Thursday.

An industry source said there was minimal impact on the refinery, but the damage was still being assessed.

Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, is trying to boost crude exports via Yanbu to offset the Strait of Hormuz disruption, with loadings seen rising to record volumes in March. Most of the cargoes are destined for Asia.

Iran has previously warned that the SAMREF refinery would be attacked in retaliation to Israel's attack on its South Pars gas field, a major escalation in the war with the US and Israel.

Iran executed three men on Thursday convicted of killing two police officers during unrest earlier this year, state media reported, saying the sentences had been upheld by the Supreme Court.

The judiciary said the men were found guilty of murder and "Moharebeh" (waging war against God), including carrying out acts it said were in favour of Israel and the United States. The executions were carried out in the religious city of Qom.

Authorities said the three had taken part in attacks using knives and other weapons during protests on 8 January, killing two police officers.

Iranian officials have repeatedly accused foreign adversaries, including Israel and the US, of involvement in the nationwide unrest earlier this year, which was repressed in the biggest crackdown in the Islamic Republic's history.

Major European airlines warned of rising fares if the surge in fuel prices stemming from the Iran conflict persists for months and urged passengers to book early to avoid extra costs as the industry's fuel hedging strategies start to unwind.

Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr, speaking alongside other airline leaders in Brussels, said it had added 40 flights to Asia to compensate for disruption to Gulf carriers but demand could be affected by higher fuel charges and fares.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that the widening of the war in the Middle East was destabilising energy markets, with global consequences including for Russia.

Iran is considering a proposal to levy transit fees on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a lawmaker said on Thursday, a potential bid to monetise Tehran's newfound grip over the critical waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas passes.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Tehran has disrupted maritime transit through the strait for vessels it says are linked to its war adversaries and their allies.

According to the Iranian Students' News Agency, the lawmaker said parliament was considering a bill under which countries using the strait for shipping, energy transit and food supplies would be required to pay tolls and taxes to Iran.

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader said "a new regime for the Strait of Hormuz" will follow the war's eventual end, allowing Tehran to apply maritime restrictions on states that have sanctioned it.

"By using the strategic position of the Strait of Hormuz, we can sanction (the West) and prevent their ships from passing through this waterway," Mohammad Mokhber said on Thursday, according to Mehr news agency.

Iran seeks compensation from the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of enabling US attacks against Iranian territory, Iran's UN Ambassador told the UN Secretary General in a letter according to a Nournews report published on Thursday.

In the letter, Amir Saeid Iravani said the UAE's decision to allow its territory to be used for the strikes constituted "an internationally wrongful act that entailed state responsibility."

Tehran said the UAE had an international responsibility to provide reparation, including compensation for all material and moral damages incurred.

China condemned on Thursday the killing of Iranian national security chief Ali Larijani by an Israeli air strike, calling it "unacceptable".

Beijing is a close partner of Iran but has also criticised Tehran's strikes against Gulf states housing US military bases.

Larijani was the highest-profile Iranian killed since supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other senior figures died during a wave of US and Israeli strikes when the war started on 28 February.

"We have always opposed the use of force in international relations. The acts of killing Iranian state leaders and attacking civilian targets are even more unacceptable," China's foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference when asked about Larijani's death.

"China urges the parties concerned to immediately cease military operations and prevent the regional situation from spiralling out of control", Lin said.

(AFP)

An AFP journalist heard three blasts over the Tel Aviv area on Thursday, after the Israeli military announced it had detected missiles fired from Iran.

"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the military said.

(AFP)

A drone has started a "limited fire" at Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi refinery, according to the Kuwait News Agency, citing the Kuwaiti Petroleum Corporation.

The attack on the oil refinery, which is 50km south of Kuwait City, did not result in injuries, the agency added.

The Saudi defence ministry said Thursday morning that a drone has crashed into the Samref refinery operated by Saudi Aramco in the port of Yanbu, with damage being assessed.

Qatar reported "extensive" damage on Thursday to the site of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility following Iranian strikes, sparking fears for global energy supplies and fresh threats from Donald Trump against Iran.

Tehran carried out attacks on Qatar's huge Ras Laffan LNG facility in retaliation for an Israeli strike Wednesday on Iran's South Pars gas field, part of the world's largest natural gas reservoir.

Oil prices soared five percent and European gas jumped by 35 percent on Thursday on fresh concerns about the impact on energy supplies of the nearly three-week-old Middle East war.

(AFP)