Mina al-Ahmadi

Mina al-Ahmadi is Kuwait's largest oil refinery and export terminal complex, with a combined processing capacity of approximately 730,000 Barrels Per Day. Situated on the Gulf coast south of Kuwait City, it processes the bulk of Kuwait's crude output and links to Kuwait's network of offshore loading buoys serving supertankers. A fire and explosion at the facility in 2000 was among the largest industrial accidents in Gulf history; the complex was subsequently rebuilt with enhanced safety systems.

During the 2026 conflict, Iranian forces struck Mina al-Ahmadi three times. The initial strikes on seq 42 and seq 43 caused significant fires and unit shutdowns, disrupting output at a refinery handling hundreds of thousands of barrels daily. A third strike occurred on 3 April 2026, again causing fires but no employee casualties, with a Kuwaiti desalination plant also hit the same morning .

Kuwait maintained an official position of neutrality while hosting US forces. The repeated targeting of Mina al-Ahmadi underscored Iran's strategy of imposing economic costs on Gulf States perceived as enabling US operations, regardless of their stated non-belligerence. That pressure campaign against Kuwaiti infrastructure resumed after the mid-June Ceasefire collapsed: Iran struck Kuwait's Shuaiba power and desalination plant twice in two days by 20 July, a separate facility from Mina al-Ahmadi, showing the campaign against Kuwait's energy sector continuing beyond the refinery itself even where the refinery has not been reported hit again.