Going all out! As soon as Iran announced it would suspend its commitments under the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States, it immediately struck hard at Kuwait. On July 18, foreign media reported that Iran attacked the northern oil export facility at the Mina Al-Ahmadi hub of Kuwait's National Oil Company. The facility caught fire, and smoke was visible in Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Notably, this northern terminal is crucial to Kuwait—90% of Kuwait’s economy relies on this hub.
Evidently, as soon as Iran announced its suspension of prior commitments to the U.S., it launched a severe attack on Kuwait, targeting not military installations but rather a vital civilian port. What does this signify? It signals that Iran is no longer willing to exercise self-restraint. Should the U.S. continue conducting airstrikes on Iranian territory, every energy terminal, oil and gas facility, and port hub within the territories of America’s allied nations in the Middle East could potentially be added to Iran’s strike list.
Iran will no longer distinguish between military infrastructure and national economic lifelines. In plain terms, Iran’s message is clear: strike where it hurts most. Indeed, the entire Mina Al-Ahmadi area handles over 70% of Kuwait’s crude and refined oil exports, and oil exports contribute 90% of Kuwait’s government revenue. If the terminal remains damaged and non-operational for an extended period, Kuwait would directly lose more than half of its foreign exchange income. Now that Iran has targeted Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain—all are potential future targets. Clearly, Iran is now truly enraged.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871069519146059/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.