Saudi Aramco-Exxon refinery SAMREF in Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu targeted, source says
Oil giant Saudi Aramco’s SAMREF refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu was targeted in an aerial attack on Thursday, an industry source said, adding there was minimal impact, after other attacks on energy facilities in Qatar and the UAE in response to US-Israeli attacks on Iranian energy installations.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had issued an evacuation warning to several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, including SAMREF, which is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil.
The warning followed a strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, a major escalation in the war with the United States and Israel.
Yanbu has been one of two major export outlets for any crude oil out of Gulf Arab countries since Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz after the war erupted late last month. The strait, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, normally carries a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
The other major export outlet is the United Arab Emirates’ port of Fujairah, which has come under a series of attacks that suspended operations there. It was not immediately clear whether loadings were operational on Thursday.
Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Bryony Gooch19 March 2026 08:00
Watch: Joe Kent claims Charlie Kirk warned him about Iran in final conversationJoe Kent claims Charlie Kirk warned him about Iran in final conversation
Bryony Gooch19 March 2026 07:51
Iran seeks compensation from UAE over US strikes on its territory, UN ambassador letter says
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.
Bryony Gooch19 March 2026 07:45
Qatar’s emir and Macron call for halt to strikes on energy infrastructure after Ras Laffan attack
Qatar’s emir and Emmanuel Macron have spoken by phone following Iranian missile strikes on the Ras Laffan Industrial City.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the French president condemned the attack as “a dangerous escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region and undermines the security of global energy supplies,” according to a readout of the call.
The emir said the continued targeting of vital facilities posed “a direct threat to regional and international stability” and called for international diplomatic efforts to prevent the crisis from widening.
Mr Macron also said he had spoken with US president Donald Trump following the strikes. “It is in our common interest to implement, without delay, a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, particularly energy and water supply facilities,” he wrote on X.
Stuti Mishra19 March 2026 07:30
Cost of Brent Crude Oil soars past $114
(Trading Economics)
Bryony Gooch19 March 2026 07:20
Iran seeks compensation from UAE over US strikes launched from its territory
Iran has demanded compensation from the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of allowing its territory to be used for US strikes against Iran, according to a letter from Iran’s UN ambassador reported by Nournews a while ago.
In the letter to the UN secretary general, ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the UAE’s decision constituted “an internationally wrongful act that entailed state responsibility,” and that the UAE had an international responsibility to provide “reparation, including compensation for all material and moral damages incurred.”
Stuti Mishra19 March 2026 07:00
Qatar says all fires at Ras Laffan gas hub contained after Iranian attack
Qatar’s Civil Defence has brought all fires under control at the Ras Laffan Industrial Area following Iranian strikes, the country’s interior ministry said a while ago.
“Cooling and sites-securing operations are still ongoing,” it added. No injuries were reported.
Stuti Mishra19 March 2026 06:40
Iran executes three men arrested over January protests
Iran has executed three men convicted of killing two police officers during protests in January, state media reported this morning. The sentences were carried out in the city of Qom after being upheld by the Supreme Court.
The judiciary said the men were found guilty of murder and “Moharebeh” — waging war against God — including acts it said were carried out in favour of Israel and the United States. Authorities said the three had used knives and other weapons during protests on 8 January.
Iranian officials have repeatedly accused foreign adversaries of involvement in the nationwide unrest, which was repressed in what authorities described as the biggest crackdown in the Islamic Republic’s history.
Stuti Mishra19 March 2026 06:20
Vessel hit by projectile off Qatar coast near Ras Laffan, UKMTO says
A vessel off the coast of Qatar has been struck by an unknown projectile near Ras Laffan, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said. All crew are reported safe.
The strike comes after Iranian missiles hit the Ras Laffan industrial complex, prompting Donald Trump to warn he would “massively blow up” Iran’s South Pars gas field if attacks on the facility continued.
Earlier, UKMTO also reported a vessel off the north-east coast of the UAE, close to the Strait of Hormuz, had been hit by a projectile, causing a fire on board. No casualties were reported.
Stuti Mishra19 March 2026 06:00
Trump’s former counterterrorism chief under FBI investigation
The FBI has opened an investigation into Joe Kent, President Donald Trump’s former counterterrorism chief, who resigned from his post over opposition to the war in Iran, according to multiple news reports.
The bureau’s probe into Kent, who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, pertains to allegations that he mishandled classified information, four unnamed sources familiar with the matter told Semafor on Wednesday.
The investigation began before he left the administration, sources said, with one characterizing it as having gone on for months.
Stuti Mishra19 March 2026 05:30