Saudi Arabia Partially Closes Major Oil Refinery After Attack
Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry announced on March 2 that it had partially suspended operations at the massive Ras Tanura refinery following an attack that caused a fire at the facility.
The Ras Tanura facility, located along the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, is one of the largest refineries in the Middle East and a mainstay of the country's energy sector, with a daily refining capacity of 550,000 barrels of oil.
"Some operational units of the refinery were shut down as a precautionary measure, without affecting the supply of petroleum products to the markets," an official source at the Energy Ministry said in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Earlier, AFP had reported, citing an "informed source," that Ras Tanura had been attacked and was on fire. The blaze has reportedly been contained.
According to a spokesman for the Saudi Defense Ministry, the refinery was targeted by two drones, both of which were intercepted and destroyed.
Ras Tanura is also one of the largest oil ports in the world.
Oil analyst Thorbjorn Soltvedt says the incident marks a significant increase in tensions in the Persian Gulf after a wave of Iranian attacks and firings across the region.
"The attack on Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with the energy infrastructure of the Persian Gulf countries now clearly within Iran's firing range," Soltvedt added in a note.
"The attack also likely brings Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states closer to joining US and Israeli military operations against Iran," he said.
Another source told AFP that an air base near the Saudi capital, Riyadh, was targeted by Iranian missiles but they were also intercepted.
This base is home to American forces, and this is the third time in the past three days that it has been attacked.
Saudi Arabia has strongly criticized Iran and warned that it reserves the right to defend itself, including through retaliatory action.
Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure has been targeted by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the past.
Taliban Profiting From Global Air Traffic Chaos Amid Iran War
The ongoing war in Iran and airspace closures in the region have forced airlines to reroute, creating congestion across alternative paths connecting Europe and Asia. In particular, the Afghan Taliban have been experiencing a windfall in transit fees amid a surge in flights over its territory.
Despite recent clashes and air strikes between Pakistan and Taliban‑controlled areas of Afghanistan, the airspace over both countries, known as the Afghan‑Pakistan Corridor, is now one of the few alternatives to the southern routes.
Live FlightRadar data shows the number of daily flights over Afghanistan has jumped from about 50 to over 280 per day -- representing a fivefold increase -- since February 28. Pilots must fly high and follow strict paths because most of Afghanistan lacks formal air-traffic control.
Transit flights generate revenue for the Taliban, who charge $700 per aircraft without providing any air-traffic control services. The surge in flights is already bringing the Taliban a sudden windfall, with an estimated $196,000 daily in transit fees.
Another crucial route is the Caucasus. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have emerged as a major alternative for Europe‑Asia flights. Pilots must navigate close to restricted airspace over both Russia and Iran. As of March 4, the Caucasus air corridor is experiencing a massive surge in traffic, with volume roughly tripling following the start of military operations in Iran on February 28.
Major carriers such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and British Airways, as well as regional airlines like Uzbekistan Airways and Air Astana, are using both corridors to keep routes open.
FlightRadar24 has noted long lines of planes in the Afghan airspace, which airlines had until recently almost completely avoided. The last time a dramatic increase of flights over Taliban‑controlled airspace was recorded was during June 2025 war on Iran.
Kallas Says Iranian Capacity To Target Gulf States 'Unsustainable'
WARSAW -- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says she doubts Iran's capacity to sustain its pace of attacks on countries across the Middle East given its decimated military following the 12-day war last year with Israel and the current US-Israeli campaign launched against it over the weekend.
"We have to understand that the Iranian capacities are not endless, especially if also the big friends are not supporting them," she told RFE/RL in an interview conducted in Warsaw on March 4.
"Americans have also said that their target is the missile launchers and missile factories, then their capacity to cause harm is also and maybe more limited than they want to show. So this is always also a fight for narratives."
To read the full report, click here.
Iran War Sends Economic Ripples Through Central Asia, Turkmenistan Most Exposed
Balkan, in western Turkmenistan along the Iranian border, is one of the first regions to feel any disruption in trade from Iran. Residents there are reliant on imported goods arriving daily from nearby crossings, so even minor delays or price changes in Iranian shipments are immediately noticeable in local markets.
As one Balkan resident put it: "We are almost entirely dependent on Iran for both food and household items. Without these imports, our markets would be nearly empty."
Another resident, reporting on current market shortages, said there are already apparent shortages due to cargo from Iran being held up. "Five liters of Iranian cooking oil used to be 150 manats ($29), and today it's 200. Prices for cleaning and chemical products have gone up by 5 manats across the board. Some shops that normally sell Iranian food in bulk are now selling only in small quantities."
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan's capital, located just 25 kilometers north of the Iranian border and roughly 350 kilometers northeast of the main Sarakhs crossing, sees supply fluctuations and price increases with a slight lag after border regions. But residents there are feeling the pressure on daily staples.
To read the full report, click here.
A New Front In Iran War? US Considers Arming Iranian Kurdish Opposition Groups
The United States is considering arming Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in neighboring Iraq, according to reports, in a move that could open a new front in the war on Iran and risks igniting a civil war in the Middle East country.
Several Iranian opposition Kurdish groups are based in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region and have been waging a low-level insurgency against Tehran for years. Some have demanded autonomy within Iran while others are fighting for secession from the Islamic republic.
The possibility of the United States supplying weapons to Iranian Kurdish groups and supporting potential cross-border ground attacks in the western part of the country comes as the United States and Israel wage a massive aerial bombardment of Iran.
To read the full report, click here.
War Of Words: How US Military Operations Are Named
- By Amos Chapple
As US military operation names go, Epic Fury marks a break from tradition.
The title for the ongoing American strikes on Iran, "is unusual for its edginess," Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International studies told RFE/RL. "Operations more commonly have names that will appeal to a wide audience, like Iraqi Freedom," he added, referencing the official name for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The former US Marine Colonel says the name for the war on Iran would have been selected from a list of options generated by military staffers "based on their sense of what [US defense chief Pete Hegseth], wanted to convey."
Read more here.
Nathan Sales: Success In Iran Will Be Measured By Pace Of Decline In Iranian Attacks
Washington's objectives in the war with Iran are both military and political, including neutralizing the threat Tehran poses to the United States and its allies and creating conditions for political change inside the country, according to Nathan Sales, a former U.S. ambassador-at-large and coordinator for counterterrorism who is now a distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs.
Sales said a key short-term measure of success would be how quickly Iran’s attacks begin to decline. In his view, a drop in missile and drone strikes would show that the US campaign is weakening Iran’s ability to continue attacking.
“I think operations to target the security services are also important because those are the elements of the regime that would try to put down any uprising, any future uprising by the Iranian people to restore democracy and freedom to their country”.
Sales also warned that the war could create security threats beyond the Middle East.
Read the interview by RFE/RL's Amra Zejneli Loxha here.
NATO Condemns Iran After Incoming Missile Downed Near Turkey
NATO has condemned Iran’s “targeting” of Turkey after Ankara said a missile heading toward its airspace had been intercepted by alliance air defense systems.
Turkey’s Defense Ministry said on March 4 that a ballistic munition launched from Iran passed through Iraqi and Syrian airspace before being engaged by NATO air and missile defense assets stationed in the eastern Mediterranean.
The missile was destroyed before reaching its target, and debris from the intercept fell in the Dortyol district of Hatay Province, with no casualties reported.
Following the incident, Turkey cautioned Tehran against actions that might escalate the conflict. In a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that “any steps that could lead to the spread of conflict should be avoided,” according to a Foreign Ministry source.
NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said the alliance “stands firmly with all allies, including [Turkey],” and stressed that NATO’s deterrence and defense posture remains strong as Iran continues attacks across the region.
With reporting by Reuters and AFP
Drone Hits Iranian Kurdish Opposition Base in Iraq
A drone struck an arms depot at the headquarters of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in the town of Dekala in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on March 4, wounding two fighters, security sources told Reuters.
Iran has long accused the autonomous Kurdish region of harboring militant groups involved in attacks on the Islamic republic and has repeatedly targeted their bases.
As the US-Israeli strikes pound targets in Iran, Iranian Kurdish armed groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan have held discussions with US officials in recent days about the possibility of attacking Iranian security forces in western Iran, according to reports.
Starmer Urges ‘Cool Head’ As Middle East Conflict Fuels Escalation Fears
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain needs to keep a "cool head" to tamp down public concerns about escalation as the conflict in the Middle East rages.
Starmer was grilled by lawmakers during Parliament's question period on March 4, enduring heaving opposition criticism a day after US President Donald Trump questioned his leadership over Britain's limited support for US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
"I know the whole country is worried about the potential for escalation," Starmer said. "We need to act, therefore, with clarity, with purpose and with a cool head."
Saudi Oil Complex Is Hit Again
Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura complex, home to the kingdom’s largest domestic refinery and a major crude export terminal, has been struck again by an unidentified projectile, four sources told Reuters.
The incident on March 4 came two days after a reported drone attack shut the refinery.
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said initial indications suggested the latest strike was carried out by a drone but caused no damage. An Saudi Energy Ministry source said supplies were not disrupted.
Persian Gulf producers, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq have been unable to ship oil through the Strait of Hormuz since US and Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28.
Hundreds of vessels have anchored near the strait as Iran threatens to fire on ships attempting to transit it.