Iran hits Kuwait refinery, Israel kills Iranian Guards spokesman as war rages on

(Reuters)

TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, March 20 – Iran attacked an oil refinery in Kuwait on Friday and Israel killed a spokesman of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran showed no sign ​of ending.

Israel promised to avoid further attacks on Iran’s South Pars gasfield the day after an Iranian retaliatory strike on Qatar caused damage that will leave the world short of natural gas ‌for years to come.

As Muslims around the region tried to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which ends the fasting month of Ramadan, and Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year, the prospect of a quick end to a war about to enter its fourth week seemed remote.

The benchmark price of Brent crude oil eased slightly to $108 after surging the day before on growing fears that the largest ever disruption to world energy supplies would trigger a global economic shock.

Even if the conflict does stop soon, there will be no rapid recovery from the upheaval caused ​by airstrikes and Iran’s virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.