Main developments
A US F-15E has been shot down over Iran, according to a person familiar with US military operations. The fate of the fighter jet’s crew — a pilot and a weapons system officer — was unknown, but a search and rescue operation was under way, the person said.
Iran’s state television reported earlier on Friday that “an advanced fighter jet” had been shot down by the country’s Revolutionary Guards, adding that the pilot ejected and landed inside Iran.
An Iranian drone attack has sparked multiple fires at the Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery in Kuwait, damaging one of the largest refineries in the region.
Abu Dhabi said it had suspended operations at Habshan, its biggest gas facility, after it was hit by debris from a thwarted attack.
A French-owned container ship has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz, the first western European-owned vessel known to have done so since the war in effect closed the strategic waterway.
Donald Trump said the US could “easily” open the Strait of Hormuz with “a little more time”. His remarks came after he issued a new threat to attack Iranian infrastructure, warning that the US military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left”.
The US International Development Finance Corporation has doubled the size of its maritime reinsurance plan to $40bn with the addition of six new commercial insurance companies.
Iranian laser and plasma research centre targeted
Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University has been attacked, in the latest strike against Iran’s research institutions.
Shahid Beheshti is one of Iran’s most prestigious universities. One of its research centres in Tehran’s Velenjak area was attacked at 4pm local time on Friday, the university said in a statement on state media. The facility was a laser and plasma research centre, an official from Iran’s Red Crescent told state media.
Abu Dhabi aluminium plant faces lengthy outage, warns EGA
Emirates Global Aluminium said that production at its Al Taweelah facility would take “up to 12 months” to be completely restored — pointing to a longer-than-expected outage at the giant facility that was damaged by Iranian missile and drone attacks last month.
In a statement on Friday, EGA’s chief executive Abdulnasser Bin Kalban said the company was working directly with customers whose deliveries were affected by the outage.
The site sustained “significant damage” and underwent “emergency shutdown”, the company said, during attacks last month. The extent of the damage was previously unknown.
The Middle East makes around 10 per cent of the world’s aluminium, and production has been greatly curtailed due to the war, as smelters struggle to secure the supplies of gas and alumina that they need to operate.
The benchmark price for aluminium on the London Metal Exchange has risen to levels that are close to a four-year high, and the supply disruption has left consumers such as auto manufacturers scrambling for replacements.