Israel launched more strikes in and around Tehran early Friday as Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year, as the war with Iran approached its fourth week.
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly diverged over Israel's bombing of Iran's South Pars gas field on Wednesday, which rattled energy markets and widened the conflict's spillover across the Gulf region. Iran targeted multiple gas and oil facilities on Thursday, including Qatar's Ras Laffan, a major energy hub.
Trump said Thursday he told Netanyahu to refrain from hitting Iranian energy sites again. Netanyahu responded that Israel acted alone in hitting the site, and said Israel would "hold off on future attacks" at Trump's request.
Overnight, Iranian drones hit Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery again, sparking fires as crews worked to contain the blaze. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said the country's air defenses responded to missile and drone threats from Iran with explosions echoing across Dubai as worshippers marked the Muslim holiday of Eid.
Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since he succeeded his slain father, issued a rare statement Friday saying Iran's enemies need to have their "security" taken away.
Here are further updates from the conflict.
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Trump and Netanyahu on Iran's gas field | Netanyahu on Iran's enriched uranium | Iran strikes Gulf countries | Iran's new leader | IRGC spokesman killed | EU on Strait of Hormuz
Trump and Netanyahu spar over strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure
President Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday he had complained to Netanyahu about Israel's strike on Iran's South Pars gas field.
He urged Israel to avoid future attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure in order to prevent any further disruption on global energy supplies.
In a post on Truth Social published Wednesday evening, Trump lashed out at Israel for attacking the South Pars gas field, and claimed the U.S. "knew nothing" about the Israeli strike in advance.
But a person briefed on the matter told NPR that the U.S. and Israel are coordinated on all targets.
Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel acted alone in carrying out the attack on South Pars on Wednesday. He said Israel would honor Trump's request.
"President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks, and we're holding off," Netanyahu told reporters at a press conference Thursday.
Netanyahu claims Iran "has no ability to enrich uranium"
Netanyahu claimed Iran "has no ability to enrich uranium" and "no ability to produce ballistic missiles." At the press conference, the first since the war began on Feb. 28, Netanyahu said Israel is now targeting industries that enable production.
Netanyahu said that the war on Iran was focused on destroying its nuclear and ballistic missile program and "creating the conditions that will allow the Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands."
His remarks on Iran's ability to enrich uranium contradicted recent statements from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Iran's nuclear capabilities.
On Wednesday, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the IAEA's director-general, told NPR he believes parts of Iran's nuclear program will remain, even after the heavy damage done by U.S. and Israeli military strikes.
"Of course, there is an enormous degradation of the physical facilities," Grossi told NPR's Geoff Brumfiel on Wednesday. "But most probably, at the end of this [military conflict], the material will still be there and the enrichment capacities will be there, perhaps some infrastructure will still be there."
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also pushed back against Netanyahu's claims.
"The question is not what Iran can do today, but what it will be able to do tomorrow, at the end of the war or in a year," Lapid wrote in a post on X.
Iran hits Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery again
Kuwait said Friday that Iranian drones struck the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery overnight, igniting fires at several operational units. Authorities said firefighters were working to control the blaze and that no injuries were reported.
The attack followed a strike on the same gas facility the day before, as Iran intensified attacks on Gulf energy sites after Israel's bombing of the South Pars oil field.
Mina Al-Ahmadi is Kuwait's largest oil refinery, making it a prominent target amid the conflict's widening energy front.
Iran's new supreme leader says enemies' "security must be stripped"
In a statement, the first since Israeli airstrikes targeted and killed Iran's top officials, Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said Iran's enemies must have their security taken away.
"Security must be stripped from internal and external enemies," Khamenei said in a statement responding to Israel's killing of Iran's intelligence chief, Esmail Khatib, earlier this week.
Israel also killed Ali Larijani, the head of the Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of Basij paramilitary militia on Tuesday.
Khamenei, 56, has not been seen publicly since he succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28.
Israel confirms killing of IRGC spokesperson
Israel's military says it "eliminated" the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's top spokesperson, Ali Mohammed Naini, early Friday.
Israel did not say how or where Naini was killed. His death makes him the fourth senior Iranian official killed by Israel this week.
EU calls for reopening of Strait of Hormuz, moratorium on strikes on water and energy sites
European Union leaders met in Brussels Thursday, where they called for "de-escalation and maximum restraint," and pressed for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
"The European Council deplores the loss of civilian life and is closely monitoring the far-reaching impact of the hostilities, including on economic stability," the leaders said in a statement.
The leaders also called for a moratorium on strikes targeting energy and water infrastructure, as energy prices continued to climb as a result of the war.
A separate joint statement by France, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada condemned Iran's recent attacks on commercial vessels and attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz, calling for an end to mine-laying, missile and drone attacks.
Carrie Kahn and Alon Avital contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel and Rebecca Rosman from Paris.
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