Oil Refinery In Iran Struck Despite Ceasefire, Tehran Strikes Kuwait, UAE

An oil refinery on Iran's Lavan Island was hit in what Iranian authorities described as an "enemy attack" on Wednesday, hours after a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States took effect. The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company reported the incident, according to Shana, the news outlet of the Iranian Oil Ministry. 

The company said the facility was struck around 10:00 local time. No casualties were reported. Safety and firefighting teams were deployed immediately to contain the blaze and secure the site.

The attack occurred despite a ceasefire agreement announced on Tuesday between the United States and Iran. The truce was reached in an 11th-hour effort to prevent the all-out destruction that US President Donald Trump had threatened.

Satellite imagery from NASA confirms fire on the island.

Iran, the US and Israel had agreed to the two-week ceasefire, which allowed President Trump to step back from his warnings of a bombing campaign that would destroy "Iranian civilisation". Yet attacks resumed on Wednesday not only in Iran but also in Gulf Arab countries.

US President Trump described the deal as a "total and complete victory" for Washington in comments to AFP. He said the United States would suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks. In return, Tehran would temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil supplies. 

In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that Tehran had agreed to the "COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz". 

The US president also told AFP that Iran's enriched uranium would be "perfectly taken care of" during the truce period. 

Trump has justified the original military action by claiming that Tehran was enriching uranium with the aim of building an atomic weapon. The United Nations nuclear watchdog has not supported that assertion, and Iran has denied it.

In an earlier plan to end hostilities that Iran rejected, the United States had demanded that Tehran halt further enrichment, accept limits on its missile programme and stop supporting militant groups in the region. Those specific requirements were not set out in the terms of the latest ceasefire. 

Trump has shifted his position on ending the conflict several times. Last month he said Iran's "unconditional surrender" was the only acceptable outcome.