Kamal Ghorui
An Iranian strike on a power facility in Kuwait killed an Indian worker and caused damage to infrastructure at the site, the Gulf nation’s electricity ministry said on Monday.“A service building at a power and water desalination plant was attacked as part of the Iranian aggression against the State of Kuwait, resulting in the death of an Indian worker and significant material damage to the building,” ministry spokesperson Fatima Abbas Jawhar Hayat said.
The wider conflict in the Gulf has intensified, with airstrikes knocking out electricity in parts of Tehran and nearby areas on Sunday. The disruption came as a senior Iranian official accused the US of preparing for a ground invasion while continuing to signal openness to negotiations.Amid rising tensions, Pakistan said it was willing to facilitate and host “meaningful talks” between Washington and Tehran in an effort to end the month-long US-Israel war with Iran.In Israel, lawmakers were set to vote overnight on the 2026 budget, which includes a sharp increase in defence spending. The proposal would raise the military budget by more than $10 billion, taking it beyond $45 billion.Israel, which has been engaged in conflict with Iran alongside the US since February 28, is also continuing operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.Iran’s energy ministry reported outages across the capital, surrounding regions and Alborz province, attributing the disruptions to strikes on electricity infrastructure. Authorities said efforts were underway to restore supply.US President Donald Trump has previously warned that Iranian power stations could be targeted if Tehran refuses to agree to a peace deal, even as deadlines for negotiations have been repeatedly extended.Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday warned that any US ground operation would be met with force, following the arrival of a US warship carrying an additional 3,500 troops to the region.“The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack,” Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.“Our men are waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional allies once and for all,” he added.The conflict has now widened into a broader regional crisis. Iran has launched attacks on Gulf states and moved to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route. The disruption has sent energy markets into turmoil and raised concerns over the global economic outlook.Ghalibaf urged national unity, describing the conflict as being “at its most critical stage.”
