Israeli airstrikes struck Tehran on Friday as Iranians observed Nowruz, the Persian New Year, with explosions audible across the capital, according to the Israeli military. Iran simultaneously launched drone attacks against Kuwait's Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery — the largest in the country, processing approximately 730,000 barrels per day — setting fires across multiple units in the second such strike in two days, Kuwait's national oil company confirmed. There were no reported casualties at the refinery.

NPR and Fox News both confirmed the Israeli wave of strikes on Tehran, citing the Israeli Defense Forces, which said the attacks followed overnight Iranian missile fire against northern Israel. The IDF said its strikes targeted military and infrastructure sites. Iran's civil defense agency acknowledged the explosions but said damage assessments were ongoing.

The dual-front exchange came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement carried by CNBC and Al Jazeera, said the war was entering a new phase and warned of "many surprises" ahead. Netanyahu, speaking a day after suggesting a ground component might be necessary to achieve regime change, again raised the prospect of deploying forces to Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90 percent of Iran's oil exports. U.S. President Donald Trump publicly dismissed such a scenario, telling reporters: "I'm not putting troops anywhere."

Iran's military separately threatened to "hunt down" U.S. and Israeli officials even while on vacation, according to a statement reported by Euronews and Fox News Live. Bahrain's Interior Ministry reported that drone shrapnel struck a warehouse near Manama, sparking a fire. Al Jazeera reported that Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile over the northern Al Jouf region on Friday morning.

Analysts on both sides of the U.S. political spectrum noted that the timing of strikes during Nowruz — Iran's most significant national holiday — carries symbolic weight. The conflict entered its 21st day with no ceasefire negotiations publicly reported and Gulf energy infrastructure suffering cumulative damage that both CNN and the Washington Times described as increasingly severe.