Kuwait air defences are responding to missile and drone attacks, its army said on Wednesday.
In a post to X, the army said “any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting hostile targets”.
Earlier, a drone attack hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait airport, according to Kuwait’s civil aviation authority.
Emergency procedures were activated immediately, with firefighting teams responding to the blaze, it said, adding that initial reports indicated only material damage.
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Iran fires missiles at Israel, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain – reports
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they have fired missiles at Israel and military bases hosting US forces in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, according to Iranian state television.
An IRG statement claimed targets were struck by “precision-guided liquid- and solid-fuel missile system and attack drones”, Agence France-Presse reported.
As we reported earlier, Kuwait air defences confirmed they were responding to missile and drone attacks, with initial reports indicating only material damage at this stage.
The airline Jetstar, which operates in New Zealand, has temporarily cut a number of domestic and international flights as the fuel crisis continues, a spokesperson told Radio New Zealand.
About 12% of services have been affected including services between Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, as well as to Sydney and Brisbane, the company announced, blaming a rise in jet fuel prices.
It comes after Air New Zealand cut four flights to Samoa, also blaming fuel costs.
Jet fuel prices have risen from US$85-90 a barrel to around US$150-200 a barrel recently, according to Reuters, due to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
Kuwait air defences are responding to missile and drone attacks, its army said on Wednesday.
In a post to X, the army said “any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting hostile targets”.
Earlier, a drone attack hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait airport, according to Kuwait’s civil aviation authority.
Emergency procedures were activated immediately, with firefighting teams responding to the blaze, it said, adding that initial reports indicated only material damage.
South Korean shares rose 3% on Wednesday, after reports the US was making progress in its efforts to negotiate with Iran.
The benchmark KOSPI was up 170.27 points, or 3.07%, at 5,724.19 as of 0135 GMT, Reuters reported.
“At this point, it is appropriate to lower the possibility of the war escalating and stock markets going through a correction for a longer time,” said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
SharePhilippines seeks US waivers to import oil from sanctioned countries after emergency declared
The Philippines is seeking waivers from the US state department so it can obtain oil from US-sanctioned countries — possibly including Iran and Venezuela — to ensure its fuel supply, the country’s ambassador to the US, Jose Manuel Romualdez, told Reuters.
The South-East Asian nation, which relies heavily on imported fuel, declared a state of national energy emergency on Tuesday as the fallout from the Middle East war continues.
As of 20 March, the government said the country has about 45 days of fuel supply remaining and is seeking to procure another 1m barrels of oil to build its buffer.
Jeepney driver Eric Helera refuels his vehicle with diesel at a fuel station in Manila. Photograph: Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images
Manilla has temporarily increased coal-fired power generation in response to the crisis. Washington has previously issued 30-day waivers for Russian crude oil and Iranian oil from tankers already at sea.
Asked if Washington had responded, Romualdez said the matter was a “work in progress”.
Read more background here.
Updated at 23.13 EDT
About 1,000 US soldiers to depart for Middle East in coming days – reports
Further to our earlier post, at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Middle East in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told Associated Press.
Earlier, Sky News and NBC News reported that Trump had approved the deployment.
The 82nd airborne is an elite infantry division that can typically be deployed on short notice and specialises in forcible entry parachute assaults.
Soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division pictured in 2021 lining up to board a plane in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Photograph: Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images
It is the latest addition of American troops after US officials last week said thousands of Marines aboard several Navy ships will be heading to the region.
The Marine deployment to the region raises speculation the US may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to Iran’s oil network, AP reported.
The US bombed the island more than a week ago, hitting its defences but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.
Iran has threatened to mine the gulf if the US appears to be on the verge of landing troops.
Updated at 21.46 EDT
Colombia is seeking to lead the formation of a global coalition of nations that want to end the use of fossil fuels, at an international meeting in April, Agence France-Presse has reported.
On Tuesday, the country’s environment minister, Irene Vélez Torres, told journalists the meeting comes as the world faces “an extreme energy crisis” due to the the war in the Middle East. Colombia’s goal is to establish a “coalition of those of us who possess the will to eliminate fossil fuels”, she said.
Velez said 45 countries had confirmed their attendance for April’s international conference on the transition away from fossil fuels, organised by Colombia and the Netherlands during last year’s Cop30 meeting in Brazil.
Irene Vélez Torres, Colombia’s minister of environment and sustainable development, during the launch of the Belem Declaration at Cop30 in Belem, Brazil. Photograph: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 21.37 EDT
Here are the latest images from the crisis in the Middle East.
A woman stands among the ruins of her family home, which was destroyed by an Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, in Tyre, Lebanon, March 24. Photograph: Manu Brabo/ReutersArmy soldiers check the site where intercepted missiles fell in Sahel Alma, north of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 24. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/APUltra-Orthodox Jewish men and children look towards a damaged building that was struck by a projectile in Bnei Brak, on the eastern outskirts of Tel Aviv, on March 24. Photograph: Ilia Yefimovich/AFP/Getty ImagesA volunteer sits on the ground as first responders inspect the rubble and search for victims at a residential building hit in an overnight strike in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran, March 24. Photograph: Mati Hashemi/APA living room was damaged when a nearby residential building was hit in a strike in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran, March 24. Photograph: Mati Hashemi/APShareOil prices drop more than 5% after Trump reportedly sends peace plan
Brent crude oil, the global market benchmark, dropped close to six percent on Wednesday after Donald Trump sent a peace plan to Iran, Agence France-Presse reports.
At around 0030 GMT, a barrel of Brent crude was down 5.92% at $98.30.
Benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down 5.01% at $87.72.
As reported earlier, the US reportedly sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the US-Israel war on Iran, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
News of the US plan was reported earlier by the New York Times, which, citing two officials, said the plan was delivered by way of Pakistan.
Per the NYT’s report, it is unclear how widely the plan had been shared among Iranian officials and whether Iran was likely to accept it as a basis for negotiations.
Updated at 21.02 EDT
Israeli strikes kill six in Lebanon – state media
Israeli strikes killed at least six people in a town and a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Sidon area, Lebanese state media reported on Wednesday.
Citing the health ministry, the official National News Agency said four people were killed in an “Israeli enemy raid” on the town of Adloun, and another two in a strike on an apartment in the Mieh Mieh refugee camp.
ShareDrone attack sparks fire at Kuwait airport – reports
A drone attack has hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait airport, Kuwait’s civil aviation authority said on Wednesday.
Emergency procedures were activated immediately, with firefighting teams responding to the blaze, it said, adding that initial reports indicated only material damage.
Updated at 20.06 EDT