Middle East war news highlights: Two Kuwait ports damaged in drone attacks; UAE willing on Strait of Hormuz force

Spot premium for Dubai crude slumped by more than half to hit its lowest level in three weeks as more sellers emerged and piled on offers while TotalEnergies remain the sole bidder, according to traders and data collated by Reuters.

The premium for the Middle East benchmark, that prices millions of barrels of crude that Asia imports, dropped sharply to about $17 a barrel at the market close on Thursday, down more than 60% from $51.20 a barrel in the previous session, underscoring severe price volatility due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran which has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday, the State Department said, adding he expressed "gratitude" to the KRG for enabling oil from Iraq, including from Iraq's Kurdistan, to reach global markets.

"The secretary also expressed his gratitude to the Kurdistan Regional Government for enabling oil from Iraq, including from the Iraq Kurdistan Region, to reach global markets," the State Department said in a statement.

The global trading system is experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", World Trade Organisation chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned Thursday at the opening of the WTO ministerial conference.

"The world order and the multilateral system we used to know have irrevocably changed," she said, adding: "We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today."

Oil prices fell on Friday after Donald Trump again pushed back a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though most equities also dropped as traders shrugged at the news following a series of conflicting messaging from the White House.

Brent crude is down 1.5 per cent at 0230 GMT, selling at $93.07 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate is down 1.8 per cent at $106.12.

A US-Israeli air strike targeting three residential houses in the Iranian city of Qom has killed six people, according to a local media report.

Qom’s deputy governor told the Fars News Agency that the number of injured remains unknown.

A maintenance facility for the US air defence system Patriot was targeted in Bahrain, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement carried by Iranian news agencies.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that it carried out missile and drone attacks on Israel and US forces in the Gulf region, AFP reported.

Lightning struck, thunder boomed, and the skies opened as rain fell across parts of the country on Thursday night.

UAE residents faced yet another day of inclement weather, navigating waterlogged roads as traffic slowed. UAE authorities issued advisories urging residents to exercise caution, avoid beaches and adhere to safety rules during adverse weather.

Dubai RTA suspended bus services to Sharjah and Ajman, while Ras Al Khaimah announced that March 27 will be a remote working day for government employees.

NCM announced that the country will remain under a rainy weather system until Friday night.

Israel’s military said early Friday that it had conducted a wave of strikes “in the heart of Tehran.”

Smoke was seen billowing in the Beirut skyline early on Friday. There was no advance warning of a strike from Israel’s military, which didn’t immediately provide information.

Kuwait said early on Friday that it shot down Iranian drones in an attack targeting the small, oil-rich nation. The United Arab Emirates sounded a missile alert over Dubai around the same time, though no interception was heard in the city-state as rain blanketed it.

Israel’s military said it was working to intercept a missile launch from Iran early Friday. Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, in surrounding communities, and incentral parts of the occupied West Bank. Emergency services said later that there were no reports of impacts or casualties. There were 10 salvos from Iran on Thursday, and Hezbollah fired at northern Israel throughout the day.

Shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz are showing early signs of life again, with the US Department of the Treasury signalling a cautious rebound in maritime traffic — even as war tensions with Iran continue to dominate headlines.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said vessel movement in and out of the Arabian Gulf is now "increasing day by day", describing the shift as “the beginning” of a broader recovery.

"You're starting to see more and more movement in and out of the Gulf today, and this is more than yesterday, and this is the beginning."

Speed reduction system has been activated to 60 Km/h on several roads in the UAE's Abu Dhabi, including Al Shwaib Road (Al Khader -Al Shwaib), Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Road, Mohammed Bin Rashid Road, Maktoum Bin Rashid Road, and Al Taff Road, Khaleej Times reported.

Jordan has strongly condemned the Iranian attack on the UAE, which resulted in the deaths of two individuals of Pakistani and Indian nationality. Several others were injured, including a Jordanian citizen, an Emirati national, and an Indian national, following the fall of debris in Abu Dhabi.

A US-Israeli air strike has targeted a residential building in the Iranian city of Urmia, the capital of West Azerbaijan province, in what was reported to be a direct missile attack.

Hamed Saffari, the director-general of crisis management for West Azerbaijan, told the IRNA news agency that “four residential buildings were completely destroyed” and confirmed that the strike “left a number of citizens killed and injured”.

The Pentagon is considering the deployment of up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give US President Donald Trump more military options, even as he talks up peace negotiations with Iran, a report says.

According to The Wall Street Journal, citing Department of Defence officials with knowledge of the planning, the force, which would likely include infantry and armoured vehicles, would be added to the roughly 5,000 Marines and some 2,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division who have already been ordered to the region.

Early on Friday, the Sharjah Media Office in the UAE posted on Instagram that air defence systems were responding to a missile threat.