Indian employee killed in Iranian attack on Kuwait’s power, desalination plants
An Iranian attack on a power facility in Kuwait killed an Indian employee and damaged infrastructure at the site, the Gulf country’s power ministry said on Monday.Ministry spokeswoman Fatima Abbas Jawahar Hayat said, “A service building at the electricity and water desalination plant was attacked as part of Iranian aggression against the State of Kuwait, resulting in the death of an Indian employee and significant material damage to the building.”
The broader conflict in the Gulf has escalated, with airstrikes on Sunday knocking out electricity in Tehran and surrounding areas. The disruption came as a senior Iranian official accused the US of preparing a ground invasion while continuing to signal openness to talks.Amid rising tensions, Pakistan said it is 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 a 2026 budget that includes a sharp increase in defense spending. The proposal would increase the military budget by more than $10 billion, to more than $45 billion.Israel, which has been engaged in a conflict with the US and Iran since February 28, is also continuing operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.Iran’s Energy Ministry reported power outages in the capital, surrounding areas and Alborz province, which it blamed on attacks on power infrastructure. Officials said efforts to restore supplies were ongoing.US President Donald Trump had earlier warned that Iranian power stations could be targeted if Tehran refuses to agree to a peace deal, despite repeated extensions of the deadline for talks.Following the arrival of a US warship carrying 3,500 additional troops to the region, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on Sunday that any US ground action would be met with force.“The enemy publicly sends communications and communication messages while secretly planning ground attacks,” Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.“Our people are waiting for American troops to arrive on the ground so they can open fire and punish our regional allies forever,” he said.This conflict has now turned into a wider regional crisis. Iran has launched attacks on Gulf countries and closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route. The disruption has roiled energy markets and raised concerns over the global economic outlook.Ghalibaf urged national unity, describing the conflict as “in its most critical phase”.